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This study explores how project managers effectively build trust through their communication styles to keep subordinates engaged and committed in work. We developed a research model for understanding the mediating role of trust from a relational view. The effect of leader communication style and its four facets—assertiveness, clarity, supportiveness, and verbal aggressiveness—on subordinate turnover intention and work engagement is explored. The model is tested based on the data collected from a survey of 200 part-time postgraduates who have been project team members. Results show that assertiveness, clarity, and supportiveness have significantly positive influences on trust, whereas verbal aggressiveness has an adverse effect on it. Trust is positively associated with the work engagement of subordinates and has a negative effect on turnover intention. This study contributes to the theory of leadership by implying that trust is a means through which leaders’ communication styles influence subordinates’ project outcomes.
Yang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.