It started off as a simple Slack message: ‘Can we get this done by Friday?’
The engineer thought this was a question, but the project manager thought it was a deadline. By the time Friday came, nobody was happy and frictions began to show.
Sound familiar? Well don’t be too shocked if you have come across similar kinds of situations yourself, they’re far more common than you might think. Despite being on this planet for around 300,000 years, humans still haven’t quite nailed the communication thing all that well. Sure, we get by and survive but there are definitive flaws that make things much harder than they need to be.
If communication really is the main reason why most problems exist, why is that the case? Well…
Communication is the glue that holds the business together. However, it’s often the first thing that falls apart when people get stressed and pressure increases.
Misunderstandings multiply when expectations, intent and assumptions aren’t clearly articulated.
The cost of poor communication is horrendous as wasted time, frustration, project delays, team misalignment and production failures increase as a result.
Leaders aren’t immune from communication struggles. Even senior leadership struggle with clear, direct and transparent messaging.
Three Common Types of Communication Failures (and How to Fix Them)
1. The Valley of Assumptions - ‘I thought you knew?’
What is that cliché - to assume will make an ass out of u and me.
The problem ❌: Some people will just assume that others are in the know about a specific thing without explicitly stating them e.g. context, awareness of priorities or general intent
The fix (as a communicator) 🔨: Provide more clarity points in your communication. So instead of saying “let’s do X”, instead say “let’s do X so that [reason], as our goal is to [outcome]”.
The fix (as a receiver of information) 🔨: Ask more of the 6 magic questions - who, what, where, why, when and how? Seek that extra clarity, even if it may seen obvious.
2. The Façade - Say one thing, do another
The problem ❌: Companies and/or leaders preach that they’re open and transparent, but only go on to operate in secrecy. It only breeds distrust and makes decisions feel pre-made despite claiming to be ‘open to feedback’.
The fix (as a communicator) 🔨: Align your words with your actions. If you say ‘feedback is welcome’ then actively show how feedback is taken on board and used to shape things.
3. Siloed Chaos - ‘Nobody told me…’
The problem ❌: Information becomes trapped within teams and people operate in their own little bubbles.
The fix (as a communicator) 🔨: Establish ways of aligning across teams, centralise documentation and in some cases create some levels of over-communication (it’s better than not enough, trust me!). A lot of this can be done async too.
How to Build a Culture of Clear Communication
✅ Be explicit with expectations – Never assume people just know something. Spell it out, even if you might be “teaching them to suck eggs”.
✅ Encourage over-communication in a structured way – Clear updates > unnecessary meetings.
✅ Use the right channels for the right message – Slack is for quick asks, email for comms with 3rd parties, meetings for alignment etc.
✅ Feedback loops are critical – Ask, ‘What do you understand from this?’ to check if your message landed as intended.
✅ Model the behaviour – If you want clear, open communication, lead by example.
Final Thought: It’s not just a soft skill, it’s a survival skill
Communication should never be seen as an afterthought - another skill to improve on at some points. Communication underpins everything from morale, clarity, productivity and all the bits in between.
Thanks for reading this week’s edition of The Manager’s Mindset. I really appreciate you taking the time to follow along — I know how busy the life of a manager (or future manager) can be.
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Until next time,
Mike 👋
Thanks for writing on this very pertinent topic!
I have a question to pose here: when does escalation become a necessity in communicating with teams or stakeholders? I’ve seen teams either using escalating to managers as a stand-in for follow-ups (“hey, I have no update yet on this dependent task and now I’m looping in your manager to get your attention!”) or responding ONLY when there’s an escalation (“we will act only when someone needs it badly!”). I don’t know when this is necessary and how long to wait before friendly communication turns into serious escalation!