Executive Communication Styles Can Impact Employee and Organizational Performance

(Illusrative Only)

Communication 
styles impact 
organizational performance.
A soft skill that can 
be learned and developed
over time.

Encourage don't discourage.

Executives must learn how to communicate effectively with teams, employees, and other decision-makers within an organization. This is a soft skill that develops over time. As leaders begin working with more complex and abstract ideas associated with senior leadership, they must learn how to articulate those ideas clearly in ways that reduce confusion.

Communication style often reveals itself in both verbal and written forms. For example, most people have read an email that seemed unnecessarily pointed or aggressive, demonstrating how tone can shape perception. Acceptance or rejection of information. Similarly, when someone tries to explain a complex concept but cannot translate it into clear, concise language, the audience may struggle to grasp the core message.

Effective communication styles can draw people together and encourage knowledge sharing. In organizations that rely heavily on intellectual and human capital, fostering this type of knowledge exchange is essential. Consider research on leadership communication and how it influences organizational behavior. At the same time, reflect on the feedback you receive from your environment—whether from colleagues, professors, or senior executives—and continue refining and strengthening your communication style over time.

 Leadership = communication? The relations of leaders’ communication styles with leadership styles, knowledge sharing and leadership outcomes.

• Leadership communication styles significantly influence how employees perceive leadership effectiveness, satisfaction with the leader, and team commitment.

• The study identified six key leadership communication styles: verbal aggressiveness, expressiveness, preciseness, assuredness, supportiveness, and argumentativeness.

• Supportive and assured communication styles are strongly associated with charismatic and human-oriented leadership, while task-oriented leadership is less dependent on communication behaviors.

• Leaders who communicate in supportive, clear, and confident ways promote greater knowledge sharing among employees and improve perceptions of leader performance.

• Precise communication by leaders independently predicts higher employee satisfaction and perceptions of leader effectiveness, even when accounting for leadership style.

De Vries, R. E., Bakker-Pieper, A., & Oostenveld, W. (2010). Leadership = communication? The relations of leaders’ communication styles with leadership styles, knowledge sharing and leadership outcomes. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25(3), 367–380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-009-9140-2