Organizational Communication and Principal Leadership Effectiveness: A Qualitative Study at a Public Elementary School in Jambi City

Organizational communication shapes how school leaders coordinate tasks, receive feedback, and maintain working relationships. This study examines communication-related aspects of principal leadership at SD Negeri 82 Kota Jambi, Indonesia. A qualitative descriptive analysis drew on documented interviews with three teachers and two education personnel members and one observation of a school scouting evaluation activity. Interview accounts were organized into themes of relational interaction, information flow, decision-making participation, technical coordination, and conflict handling; the observation was compared with the interview accounts as a contextual check. The accounts describe approachable and supportive interpersonal relationships alongside less consistent operational communication, including delayed or ambiguous digital instructions, uneven participation in strategic decisions, and reliance on technically skilled colleagues. The observed scouting activity showed clear task coordination, but this single event cannot represent everyday communication throughout the school. These findings suggest that communication-related leadership effectiveness varies by issue and setting within this school. The study proposes clearer official messages, timely distribution of documents, and documented follow-up as context-specific practical recommendations rather than tested interventions.