Communication Myth 2: There is too much Communication

Leadership in 180 Seconds: The 10 Greatest Communication Myths in the Workplace

“Don’t we already have too much communication?” It’s a fair question—and one I used to believe myself. But what if the problem isn’t the amount of communication, but the quality of it? In this episode, we unpack why great leaders don’t reduce communication—they refine it to build clarity, trust, and results.

• Transcript

  When I was a young leader, I bought into the myth that meetings were a waste of time. I even tried running a number of my teams this way. And to be honest, in the short term, it felt like I was on the right track. Then I came to realise, that my team weren't connected to me or to each other. Motivation waned, the energy in the office was gone. I needed to change things. That is when I realised that the problem wasn't too much communication. It was a lack of clarity.

  Let’s look at some statistics:

  According to research published by ResearchGate, in professional and clerical work, between 50% to 80% of our jobs involve communication. Emails. Phone calls. Time with clients. Meetings. One-on-ones with staff.

  So, are we wasting our time? Should we be spending less time communicating?

  Here is my proposal for us today.

  I believe our communication feels excessive when we feel like:

  • Our message is not being heard.

  • Or we get to the end of meetings and feel like little has been achieved

  • We receive that email that triggers negative emotions and then we have to spend significant time trying to figure out the sub-text

  What if the cause of communication feeling excessive is actually because we are doing it badly?

  Communication is in it’s essence about leading our team towards a common goal. However as a leader we need to understand that if we focus only on driving action we may be doing more damage than good.

  A good communicator understands firstly the importance of communication. We don’t aim to do it less. But, we aim to do it in a way that fosters relationships, builds trust, and supports our people. This is intentional and the time spent doing this pays off in the long term.

  Great leaders understand that we need to communicate with care and clarity. When we care for the person we are communicating with the message is received with equal care. And when we bring clarity our communication is moving us effectively towards our vision.

  • Every interaction should communicate care.

  • Every meeting should drive action and connection.

  • Every check-in should create alignment and support.

  When we get this right, communication stops being a nuisance and starts being the fuel that drives results, builds culture, and strengthens teams.

  A leadership role isn’t about adding oversight of a bunch of people to our already overflowing job profile. It’s about re-organising our priorities. It’s about understanding that if we communicate well, we will influence well and if we influence well our productivity becomes exponentially greater as those around us increase in their own productivity.

  So here’s my challenge to you. As a leader are you embracing communication? Are you using it to connect with your team members? Are you driving vision and purpose in your meetings? Where do you see weakness in your communication?