Effective leadership communication is widely recognised as a critical capability in public sector leadership, particularly for the preparation and empowerment of future leaders. Although leadership development initiatives in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have expanded substantially, empirical evidence remains limited on how leadership communication functions as a practical mechanism for managerial empowerment, especially within sector-specific contexts such as sports administration. This study examines the role of leadership communication skills in empowering future leaders in the UAE Ministry of Sports. A qualitative interpretive research design was employed to explore the perceptions and experiences of emerging leaders. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 14 future leaders who currently hold or are being prepared for supervisory and leadership roles. The data were analysed using thematic analysis supported by NVivo software. The findings indicate that leadership communication among future leaders is predominantly practised at the operational level, focusing on task clarification and routine coordination. Nevertheless, effective communication was found to enhance trust, autonomy, psychological readiness, and participation in decision-making, thereby supporting managerial empowerment. In contrast, weak or inconsistent communication limited empowerment, rendering it symbolic rather than substantive. Organisational factors, including supportive culture, workload pressure, time constraints, and recognition mechanisms, emerged as key enablers and constraints. Overall, the study demonstrates that leadership communication functions as a central mechanism through which managerial empowerment is enacted and underscores the need to reposition communication as a strategic leadership capability within the UAE public sector.
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