Have you ever watched a room transform when someone walks in who knows exactly how to communicate? Not the person who talks the most or the loudest, but the one who somehow manages to say just the right thing at the right time, listen intently, and leave everyone feeling both heard and inspired.

That's the Level 5 Leadership trait of masterful communication - and for today’s leaders, it will be among the most valuable skills you can develop.

Below we discuss why communication matters, how to stay out of the "advice trap," emotional intelligence, over-communicating, and retaining talent as well as 6 communication principles leaders should live by.

As artificial intelligence increasingly handles data processing, report generation, and even basic decision-making, the uniquely human aspects of leadership become more crucial. While AI can analyse information with remarkable speed and accuracy, it cannot replicate the nuance, emotional intelligence, and contextual understanding that humans bring to communication.

In a world where technical skills are increasingly automated, your ability to connect, inspire, and align teams through effective communication becomes your competitive edge.

As we get increasingly challenged and frustrated by complex workplace environments, leaders who communicate with clarity, empathy, and purpose will stand out.

Leaders who excel at communication enjoy significant advantages:

• Enhanced alignment and execution - Patrick Lencioni writes in “The Advantage” that organisational health trumps everything else in business. At the core of this health is a leadership team that communicates with clarity, eliminating confusion about priorities and direction
• More innovative teams - In "No Rules Rules," Reed Hastings describes how Netflix improves innovation outcomes through a culture of candid feedback (see Radical Candor, below) and transparent communication, allowing ideas to flow freely without fear of criticism
• Better decision-making - When information flows effectively, decisions are made with more complete data and diverse perspectives
• Stronger relationships - Kim Scott's "Radical Candor" book and framework demonstrates how giving feedback to team members in a way that balances caring personally and challenging directly builds trust and psychological safety
• Greater resilience during change - Leaders who communicate effectively during transitions reduce uncertainty and resistance to change. As Andrea Clarke writes in her book on adaptability “Adapt,” experts point out that change communication doesn’t always need to be positive, just honest

Many leaders fall into what Michael Bungay Stanier (aka MBS) calls "the advice trap" in his book of the same name. This happens when leaders immediately jump to giving advice rather than asking questions and truly listening. While well-intentioned, being an “advice monster” can:

• Rob team members of opportunities to develop their own problem-solving skills
• Limit the exploration of creative solutions
• Signal that the leader doesn't fully trust their team's capabilities
• Create dependency rather than autonomy

MBS suggests that leaders stay curious longer, asking questions that help teams discover their own solutions rather than immediately providing answers. This shift from "advice monster" to coach does a lot to change communication dynamics and empowers teams.

In "Emotional Agility," Susan David explores how understanding and managing emotions - both our own and others' - enables more effective communication.

Leaders who develop emotional agility can:

• Navigate difficult conversations without being hijacked by emotions
• Recognise unspoken concerns or resistance in team members
• Adapt their communication style to different situations and individuals
• Create psychological safety where honest communication can flourish

David's work reminds us that effective communication isn't just about words - it's about understanding the emotions and values that drive behavior and decisions.

While strong communication is vital, there is potentially a flip side. Jeff Bezos, as described in Brian Dumaine's "Bezonomics," believes that "too much communication and coordination between and within business units slows things down."

Bezos is quoted as saying, "Bringing everyone up-to-date on a project lengthens its gestation."

Instead of excessive meetings and updates, Bezos advocates a "basic organising principle" of "pushing responsibility and autonomy down to the smallest possible atomic unit, which … has complete control over the success or failure of what they're working on."

Here lies the important distinction between purposeful communication and what might be called "doing business with ourselves" - the endless meetings, email chains, and status updates that create the illusion of productivity while actually impeding progress.

The key is finding the right balance: enough communication to ensure alignment and coordination without creating unnecessary bureaucracy or dependencies.

With a competitive (and fluid) talent market, communication plays a crucial role in employee engagement and retention. Effective leaders:

· Provide context, not just directives - Explaining the "why" behind decisions helps employees find meaning in their work

· Practice "radical candor" - As Kim Scott advocates, combining direct feedback with personal care creates trust and drives growth

· Listen actively - Showing genuine interest in employee perspectives gives them a sense of belonging

· Communicate consistently - Regular check-ins and updates create predictability and reduce uncertainty

· Tailor communication styles - Recognising that different team members respond to different approaches shows respect for individuality

To strengthen your communication as a leader:

• Adopt the "advice monster" pause - When someone presents a problem, count to three before offering a solution. Instead, ask: "What have you considered so far?"

• Implement "radical candor" conversations - Schedule regular feedback sessions focused on both personal support and direct professional feedback

• Create communication protocols - Define which decisions require consultation, which require simply informing others, and which can be made autonomously

• Practice emotional check-ins - Before important conversations, ask yourself what emotions might be influencing your communication

• Establish "no-meeting" blocks - Designate specific times for focused work without interruptions or coordination requirements

• Ask for communication feedback - Regularly solicit input on how your communication could be more clear, helpful, or efficient

In the AI era, the most successful leaders will be those who master the art of purposeful communication - knowing when to speak, when to listen, and when to step back and let their teams work autonomously. By focusing on quality over quantity, emotional intelligence over information transfer, and clarity over complexity, you can transform communication from a daily task into a genuine leadership superpower.

The future belongs not to those who communicate the most, but to those who communicate with the most purpose, authenticity, and impact.

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