If you’ve ever thought, “Why is this so hard?” while leading a business, team, clients, sales or delivery, you’re not alone. Leaders across industries, company sizes and cultures share many of the same challenges.

The good news? Addressing them can change the narrative, improve results and significantly reduce frustration.

One issue consistently rises to the top.

Poor communication is cited as the second most costly leadership frustration. It shows up as rework, delays, and avoidable mistakes and often sounds like this:

  • Important information isn’t being shared
  • Teams misunderstand one another
  • People stay silent instead of asking questions

 

What to do about it

Frustration rarely brings out our best. And most of the people we work with, teams, clients, collaborators, aren’t trying to make things harder.

So, start here.

🛑 Pause

🧘 Take a breath

🤝 Reflect on your own natural communication style

 

For example, do you prefer:

🚀 High-level, bullet-point direction?

🎯 Detailed, data-driven explanations?

📍A step-by-step plan?

🤔 Open-ended ideas that invite collaboration and brainstorming?

📊 Visuals or models representing your solution?

 

Any of these approaches can work. What matters is knowing how you naturally communicate.

Communication isn’t a broadcast. It’s a two-way exchange.

Understanding your own style is the first step.

Understanding the preferences of the people receiving your message is just as important.

When you align with your natural style, you show up more authentically and are more likely to be heard.

When you adjust for your audience, your message is more likely to land as intended.

For example, our founder, Laural Carr shares what she’s learned about her communication style.

“I know I don’t always go as deep into details as others do, and I rely on them to fill in those gaps. So, I specifically invite questions when I share information, and I intentionally leave time for them to be asked.

When I want to brainstorm, I set out my purpose and make sure the right people are participating in the conversation with me.”

Consider one small change you can make to improve how you communicate, whether it’s clarity of intent, audience awareness, or simply creating space for dialogue.

Small shifts can create meaningful results, and avoid the frustrations and costly mistakes that make work inefficient and leadership harder.

If you want to understand your natural communication preferences, contact us to discover how we help leaders, like you, and their teams, to overcome the second most costly leadership error, poor communication.