Communication is at the heart of great leadership. For managers aiming to lead their teams to success, understanding how to communicate with clarity, purpose and impact is an essential leadership tool.
Whether you’re managing a fast-paced department or guiding a company through change, your ability to convey ideas, inspire action and listen to your team can make the difference between average performance and exceptional results.
Great leaders know that communication goes beyond speaking clearly or sending emails. It involves listening actively, adapting to different audiences and understanding both verbal and non-verbal cues. Whether during a one-to-one meeting, addressing a group or navigating challenging conversations, the way leaders communicate influences company culture and shapes how employees engage with their work.
So, what do great leaders do to make their communication so effective?
Using Clear, Simple Language
21st century leadership is all about inclusivity. This doesn’t just mean equality for underrepresented groups; it’s about levelling the playing field to ensure all elements of a team are given an equal amount of equity.
Great leaders don’t look to flex their knowledge and experience to intimidate. They share knowledge and use their skills to empower the team around them.
Practical approaches:
- Always use the most clear and simple language possible when speaking in groups and one-to-one
- Consider an “acronym amnesty” where acronyms are discouraged
- Avoid using jargon and always think about the knowledge level of your audience when communicating
This approach proves particularly valuable in science and technology sectors, where complex concepts require translation into accessible language. Research shows that 40% of UK employees are unhappy with the current quality of workplace leadership¹, making clear communication more important than ever.
Building Inclusive Communication Environments
Creating inclusive communication requires deliberate effort and consistent practice. Leaders who excel at communication establish ground rules that encourage participation from all team members, regardless of their role, experience level or cultural background.
Successful leaders create safe spaces where team members feel comfortable asking questions, sharing ideas and expressing concerns without fear of judgement. They actively encourage diverse perspectives and demonstrate genuine interest in understanding different viewpoints.
Using Communication to Motivate Your Team
A big part of your effectiveness as a leader comes down to how well you use communication to motivate your team.
For many reasons it can be difficult to inspire motivation in your team when it is lacking. Continual challenges within the team, reduced focus and even a lack of self-confidence on your part can prevent you from being the motivational leader you aspire to be.
The most effective way to benefit from consistent motivation from your team is to create a culture of intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation means that you don’t have to constantly cheerlead your team. Motivation inherently runs through everything they do.
How to Create Intrinsic Motivation
Regularly recognise accomplishments
Develop consistent patterns of acknowledging both small daily accomplishments and significant project milestones. This involves specific, behaviour-focused recognition that highlights exactly what team members did well and why their actions mattered.
Encourage collaboration
Promote collaboration between employees and teams that work well together. Create opportunities for people to share knowledge and support each other’s development.
Provide constructive feedback
This will reinforce a sense of ownership and personal fulfilment, driving intrinsic motivation across the team. Connect individual contributions to larger organisational goals so people understand their impact.
Developing Active Listening Skills
Knowing when to listen and truly take on board what others are saying is a really valuable skill. As a leader it can mean the difference between a team who see you as a separate entity, or as someone on their side who is invested in their challenges and their successes.
When leaders actively listen, they demonstrate respect and empathy, making team members feel valued and understood.
Common Listening Barriers
Do you ever find yourself:
- Anticipating what people are about to say?
- Creating a response to what someone is saying before they have finished?
- Not actively paying attention to how your body language or tone of voice is contributing to what you are saying?
Practical Active Listening Techniques
Instead, remember to employ the following when speaking to your team, both in-person and online:
Don’t listen only to respond
Truly take on board what the other person is saying. Try to put yourself in their position and imagine the conversation from their perspective. What might they be feeling? What might they be hoping to get from this conversation?
Pay attention to your tone and body language
Be aware of how distractions or other priorities could lead you to bringing a preoccupied atmosphere to your conversations. Your non-verbal cues either reinforce or undermine your verbal messages.
Ask confirming questions
Sum up what others have said to ensure you’re both on the same page, using details to highlight you were taking the important information on board. This demonstrates you absorbed what they shared and creates deeper understanding.
Adapting Your Communication Style
Great communicators can easily adapt to any audience. In a team, every member has unique communication preferences, learning styles and cultural backgrounds. A leader who can adjust their communication style to meet the needs of their team is more likely to facilitate understanding, collaboration and trust.
For example, some employees might prefer direct instructions, whilst others respond better to a more collaborative, open-ended approach. A leader who recognises this can tailor their communication to ensure each person feels valued and understood.
Contextual Communication Strategies
Different situations require different communication approaches:
Crisis communications demand clear, decisive messaging that provides direction and reassurance.
Brainstorming sessions benefit from open, encouraging communication that invites creativity and innovation.
Performance discussions require balanced approaches that combine honest feedback with supportive guidance, ensuring team members understand expectations whilst feeling motivated to improve.
Team meetings benefit from structured communication that keeps discussions focused whilst allowing for meaningful participation from all attendees.
Research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development demonstrates that well-connected teams can increase their productivity by 20-25%², highlighting the tangible impact of strong communication.
Frequently Asked Questions About Leadership Communication
Building Communication Excellence
Communication is one of the most powerful tools great leaders possess. At the heart of their communication lies clarity. Great leaders distil complex ideas into simple, understandable messages. They tailor their communication style to fit the audience, whether addressing an entire company, having a one-to-one conversation or managing a crisis.
They back their words with actions, reinforcing their vision and values through everyday behaviour. By doing so, they create alignment and confidence in their teams.
The journey towards communication excellence requires commitment to continuous learning, regular practice and willingness to adapt based on feedback and results. However, the investment in developing strong communication capabilities pays significant dividends through improved team performance, reduced workplace conflicts and enhanced leadership credibility.
Ultimately, great leaders don’t just deliver information. They inspire, motivate and engage through intentional, adaptive and empathetic communication. This approach transforms average teams into high-performing units that achieve exceptional results.