Employees don’t need more communication, they need better communication

Before working with a group, an organization, or a leadership team, I often conduct an employee interview session to identify issues among employees.

Getting insight into some underlying issues and the real areas of concern, from the employees perspective is so helpful to the process.

One of the common themes needing improvement is communication. Sounds surprising, right? But year after year, I hear from staff and teams that "communication needs improvement," and every time I talk to the senior leaders, they don't get it.

“We've increased updates, we're holding more meetings. We just did a town hall last week. How much information do these people need?”

I've actually had executives joke with me, saying, “I don't think we could communicate more than we do.”

But when talking about communications, employees aren’t talking about the types or the volume, they are asking for more clarity, not more communication.

The themes I’m seeing are things like:

• sudden shifts in priorities without explanation

• decisions being made behind closed doors

• vague direction, such as “We’re going in this direction”

• changes to software or processes without explaining why

Another common issue: Mixed messages

One dynamic I often see is different leaders in the same organization emphasizing different goals or communicating different messages. Even when there’s some overlap in communication, employees are left unsure of what matters most.

This creates uncertainty and anxiety because when one boss says something and another says something different, confused employees fill in the gaps themselves. And trust me, people tend to assume the worst. That uncertainty creates stress, fuels gossip and mistrust.

So, when we're talking about better communication with employees, it's about the “Cs”: clarity, consistency and courage (see section below!). Whether it's good or bad news, employees want to hear aligned messages from their leaders.

Don’t delay difficult conversations

Another dynamic I regularly encounter is leaders delaying difficult conversations with staff.

If everyone were getting a raise, bonus or new desks, leaders wouldn’t hesitate to make the announcement. But when it’s something like a cutback, restructuring, or another difficult decision, leaders often delay those conversations because they don’t want to upset the apple cart. They think, We don’t want to demoralize people. The problem is that uncertainty and poor communication often create more stress than delivering bad news clearly and promptly.

I think that by delaying, downplaying, or soft-pedalling it, leaders actually work against their own good intentions. You need to be courageous.

Teams don’t need perfect answers all the time, but they do want consistency. They want to know they can trust leadership to communicate honestly and consistently about what’s happening, positive or negative.

It’s not about polish. When leaders become too focused on finding the perfect words or managing how they’re perceived, communication can start to feel inauthentic. In many cases, people can handle difficult news better than leaders expect,  they just don’t want to feel blindsided.

So often, this isn’t just a clarity problem. It’s a consistency problem and, sometimes, a courage problem.