Words Matter: Impactful Leadership Communication for a Productive Workplace

A former manager once said to me, “I don’t care about internal communication.” For context, this person oversaw a communications team. This was a classic example of a leader who doesn’t understand the value of effective communication.

Here are some other remarks about communication I’ve heard from leaders I’ve worked with:

• “I never read any of the news articles on our intranet. In fact, I rarely go out there.” –A CEO

• “I’d prefer not to speak at our company leadership event.” –Another CEO

• “We don’t need to talk about our reduction in staff anymore. People just need to get over it.” –Yet another CEO
  

What all these remarks illustrate is a clear lack of understanding about the need for and power of effective workplace communication.

The State of Workplace Communication report from Forbes found that ineffective workplace communication impacts employees’:

• Productivity

• Job satisfaction

• Stress levels

• Trust in leaders and their teams
  

This is when leaders should look to their IC pros for advice and education on how to be effective communicators. There should be baseline expectations for leaders when it comes to their role in communication. For example, their role could be to:

• Help employees understand what matters most

• Model transparency and authenticity

• Invite two-way communication

When leaders are effective communicators, they unlock so much more potential in their employees and create happier, healthier, and more productive work environments. Who doesn’t want that?

For more of my tips on how to coach leaders to be more effective communicators, download my leadership self-assessment guide.