Managers are struggling with one of the most critical aspects of leadership – communication – and their teams are paying the price.
Research reveals what every manager suspects but rarely talks about:
Your team communications aren't landing. Whether it's emails, team meetings, or announcements, up to half of your team communications are ignored or forgotten because they fail to capture team member's attention. Employees spend significant time processing workplace communications, but often tune out messages that don't immediately grab them.
It's costing you your best people. The top three reasons employees quit are not feeling valued by their organisation (54%), not feeling valued by their managers (52%), or not feeling a sense of belonging at work (51%). Poor management communication is the #1 driver of employee turnover.
Your team is crying out to be heard. What employees really want is 'full appreciation for work done' and 'to be seen as people, not resources'. When employees feel like their opinions are valued and heard, they're dramatically more likely to be engaged and satisfied with their work.
They want to feel genuinely cared for. Research shows 83.4% of employees value a positive work environment above everything else. When surveyed, 68.1% said they're more likely to stay if their employer prioritises work/life balance and shows genuine care for their wellbeing.
But they're getting the opposite. Whether it's emails, meeting agendas, or team announcements, most managers simply aren't hitting the mark. They focus on what they need from the team - deadlines, tasks, requirements. But your team wants to know how their work matters, how they're valued, and how they fit into the bigger picture.
The engagement crisis is real. A 2022 global survey found that 59% of employees were "quiet quitting" (not engaged at work), and 18% were "loud quitting" (actively disengaged). The fix? Better recognition and communications that make people feel valued.
You don't have the support to fix it. Unlike senior executives with communications teams, you're handling complex team messaging alone - from emails to townhalls to one-on-ones - despite having no professional communications training and already being overloaded with other jobs to be done.
I witnessed this crisis firsthand when a leader's poor communication created the perfect conditions for workplace fraud. The team, mostly non-native English speakers, couldn't understand his 'corporate speak'. They felt excluded, disrespected, and disconnected from leadership. Several employees eventually colluded to steal from the company.
This wasn't just poor communication. This was a systematic failure that cost the business hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Across my 20+ years in global communications, I've seen this pattern repeat everywhere.
High achievers stop achieving. Passionate team members go silent. Corridor chatter about "being left out of the loop" or feeling demeaned becomes the norm.
The transformation happens gradually. People go from being highly productive, engaged employees to "just doing the needful."
What makes this particularly devastating is the ripple effect.
Highly engaged employees have a positive influence across entire teams and represent the organisation externally. When they turn negative, it impacts relationships within and beyond the team. Research confirms this reality. Disengaged employees can reduce team productivity by up to 34%.
Here's what I find most frustrating about this crisis.
C-suite executives have communications experts whose job is ensuring consistent messaging and tracking team sentiment. They get professional help to communicate well.
Meanwhile, 200,000+ Australian managers are left to figure it out alone.
Most were promoted for technical expertise, not communication skills. They bumble their way through leadership communication until they're senior enough to get support.
The gap is massive. And it's expensive.
Organisations typically face an annual average cost of about AU$50,000 for each employee who leaves, and managers spend at least 100 hours each year developing communications that half the team doesn't notice. Sound familiar? You're not alone in this challenge.
Time Constraints: Most managers dedicate hours to creating team communications but lack the time to personalise messages on a large scale.
Feedback Blind Spots: Studies show 50% to 75% of employees leave because of their manager or reasons their manager has influence over. Yet time poor managers often miss early warning signs of disengagement, reduced team cohesion, or declining wellbeing that impact both retention and productivity.
Communication Fatigue Crisis: With the amount of emails and notifications each employee receives every day, almost two-thirds admit they ignore work emails. When communications aren't engaging, they get lost in the noise.
Manager-Centric Messaging Problem: Employee feedback consistently shows that managers write communications only when they need the team to know or do something, rather than crafting messages that speak to team members' needs, motivations, and perspectives – a key reason messages fail to engage.
Poor manager communication follows predictable patterns.
Managers send messages or run team sessions when something is urgent. They often neglect strategic communication during busy times. Rumours spread, decisions are made without consultation, and psychological safety diminishes.
The financial impact of disengagement is staggering.
Just one disengaged employee costs an organization $2,246 per year in lost productivity.
But the human cost runs deeper. Having a team that's unhappy and being a leader people don't want to follow creates lasting damage to workplace culture and individual wellbeing.
When people can't see themselves in the narrative or feel like resources rather than people, they not only disconnect completely.
Technology finally allows us to solve what would have required 200,000+ communications managers.
AI won't replace the leader's knowledge of their team and work environment. But it can make suggestions based on employee feedback and insights, helping managers do a better job.
The real power comes from tailoring messages to how people best process information, in their native language, with cultural aspects that help messages land effectively.
AI can prompt managers to notice good work and behaviors from their team, especially those helping achieve company purpose and strategy. It helps them look for stories that connect the team to shared purpose.
Through ongoing feedback loops, AI asks the questions that help managers meet their team's actual needs and wants.
When managers start genuinely recognising and informing their teams, people begin feeling seen and valued.
Managers then see positive impact in team sentiment, productivity, and wellbeing. It feels good, so they do more of it.
This creates the virtuous cycle that breaks the slow burn of disengagement.
Strong workplace culture builds through information sharing and relationships.
Every manager deserves communication support, not just those who reach C-suite level. Every team member deserves to feel heard, valued, and cared for.
AI can give managers superpowers without replacing the human connection that drives engagement.
It's time to democratise communication support and stop bad leadership communication for good.
With My Comms Coach by your side, you can master effective leadership communcations - both information sharing and relationship building.