Business leadership coaching: is communication broken in your business?
Have you ever walked out of a meeting thinking you were crystal clear, only to find out later that your team interpreted things completely differently?
If you’re a Managing Director or senior business leader, this might sound all too familiar. You’ve got the vision, the drive, and the standards. But for some reason, your team just… doesn’t seem to get it. You’re stuck having to repeat yourself, clean up avoidable mistakes, and wrestle with underwhelming execution. It’s exhausting.
Let me be direct: your team isn’t broken, your communication probably is. That’s where business leadership coaching can become a game-changer.
Coach’s Corner: Try this — ask your team to describe, in their own words, the outcome of a project you’ve just briefed them on. You’ll immediately spot whether your “clear” was actually clear.
Why It Happens: The Executive Disconnect (A Business Leadership Coaching Insight)
As a leader, you’re several steps ahead. You’re thinking about the next quarter, the next opportunity, the risks, the pivot, the big play. But your team? They’re often focused on this week, this task, this deadline.
That’s a natural gap. But when we assume that they “just get it” without explaining it, we create confusion, inconsistency, and frustration. We think we’ve communicated, but what we’ve really done is throw out a fragment of an idea and assume everyone is on the same page.
Busy executives often default to shorthand. Resist it. Use plain language. Clarity over cleverness — every time. That’s a cornerstone of effective business leadership coaching.
“But I Told Them…” Isn’t Enough
I hear this all the time: “But I told them what I wanted.” Maybe. But did they understand it? Did they agree to it? Did they ask questions? Did you check their understanding? Most importantly: did you say it in a way that made sense to them?
Leadership isn’t just about direction — it’s about translation. It’s your job to make sure the vision lands.
Use this test: if someone else on the leadership team had to brief your message on your behalf, could they do it with 90% accuracy? If not, go back and clarify. This is something we fine-tune regularly in business leadership coaching.
Try the 3C Framework (from Business Leadership Coaching Practice)
Here’s a simple coaching framework I often share with business leaders:
- Clarity – Be specific about outcomes. Not just “launch the campaign,” but “have the campaign live by the 14th, targeting X market, with Y budget.”
- Cadence – Communicate repeatedly. Once is never enough. Embed priorities in weekly check-ins, dashboards, or stand-ups.
- Check back – Get confirmation. Ask your team to repeat the goal in their own words, or recap the next steps in writing.
Coach’s Corner: Want a stronger culture? Make “clarify and confirm” a leadership habit — not just a one-off exercise. That’s how we build sustainable habits through business leadership coaching.
If You’ve Been Feeling This…
You might be:
- Carrying more stress than you’d like
- Wondering why your high performers keep missing the mark
- Spending too much time fixing avoidable issues
- Saying, “Why do I have to do everything myself?”
You’re not alone — and you’re not failing. You’re simply doing what most MDs do: assuming your team sees the business the way you do.
The solution isn’t working harder. It’s communicating smarter — and that’s exactly what business leadership coaching is designed to help with.
Top Tip: Before your next leadership meeting, write down your top 3 priorities for the quarter. Now ask each department head to do the same. Compare them. How aligned are you?
What Happens When You Get This Right?
When communication improves, alignment improves. And when alignment improves, performance follows.
Our clients at ActionCOACH often tell us that, after working on this area through business leadership coaching, they:
- Regain confidence in their leadership
- See their teams step up with more ownership
- Spend less time repeating themselves
- Improve productivity — without micromanaging
Most importantly, they create a business that runs with them, not because of them.
Coach’s Corner: Don’t assume your team is underperforming. First ask: “Have I given them everything they need to succeed?” That’s a reflective question we explore often in business leadership coaching sessions.
Quick Self-Assessment: Can Your Team Read Your Mind?
Take a minute and run through this list:
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I clearly communicate what success looks like for each major task/project.
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I ask for confirmation — not just nods — when giving instructions.
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I revisit key priorities at least weekly.
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My team knows how their work links to broader business goals.
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I avoid vague phrases like “make it better” or “ASAP.”
If you’ve checked fewer than 4, you’ve got room to grow — and that’s exciting. Because fixing this changes everything. Business leadership coaching helps you close these gaps systematically.
What’s going on with your business?
If any of this resonated with you, or if you’re sitting there thinking, “This is exactly what’s going wrong in my business” — I’d be happy to have a no-pressure conversation.
Sometimes it just takes a quick chat to see things. If you’d like to explore how business leadership coaching can help create more alignment, ownership, and momentum in your team, feel free to drop me a message.
Because your team can’t read your mind, but they can thrive with your leadership.
Related articles:
Critical Conversations: 5 Strategies to Create Stronger Teams
Leadership Blind Spots That Secretly Harm Success
Leadership Without Limits: How to Inspire Peak Performance
