Before you read another word, pause for just a moment and take this 60-second influence test.
(Okay you skeptics, just humor me – you’ll understand why afterwards, I promise! And I’ll bet that you’ll immediately think of people you want to share it with…)
Click the video to play:
(Watch then scroll down…)
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If your experience was like that of the thousands of people in my keynote and training audiences, here's what just happened:
- Your instructions were clear.
- You knew exactly what outcome you wanted.
- And still, the result wasn't what you intended.
That gap is the whole game of leadership communication.
Why?
Because influence isn’t measured by what was intended; influence is measured by what moved.
The Assumption That Trips Up Smart Leaders
Every executive wants employees to understand the company's vision, priorities, and direction.
Yet many leaders assume that once they've articulated the message, the job is done.
If you lead anyone, this is your challenge too. Whether you lead a team of five or 5,000, the scale changes, but the point doesn't.
You want the people you lead to understand the vision, the priorities, the direction — so you communicate it. Maybe in
- the one-on-one
- The team meeting
- The all-hands
- The carefully worded email
Check: Message sent.
But just because you sent it, doesn’t mean they received it.
The moment you stop talking, the people you lead start asking the questions (at least to themselves) that actually matter:
- What does this mean for me?
- How does this change what we're doing?
- What do we prioritize now?
If you assumed the message landed simply because you sent it, you’ll most likely discover that you've made the same mistake your fingers just made: Clear intent, with unintended results.
You're a Translator, Not a Courier
Here's where it breaks down. It's tempting to treat communication like a relay — receive the message, hand it down, trust it to carry. But leading isn't forwarding a script.
Whoever you lead, your job is to
- explain the why behind the decision
- connect it to their day-to-day
- field the hard questions
- address the uncertainty, and
- reinforce the message long after the first telling has faded.
When that doesn't happen, the gaps fill themselves — with rumors, mixed signals, and quiet disengagement. Priorities drift. Initiatives stall. And trust erodes, not because anyone communicated badly, per se, but because the message was never reinforced enough to sound like more than just an idea.
What the Best Leaders Do Differently
They don't assume once is enough. They take the time to build and confirm understanding, not just make a proclamation in passing and hope for the best.
That means framing context, not just talking points. The why, not just the what. Anticipating the questions people will ask, and being ready to answer them. And reinforcing the message over time instead of treating it as a one-time mic drop.
A Simple Test for Your Own Influence
You already took one test today. Here's a second one, no hands required:
If you asked ten of the people you lead to explain your top priority right now, would you hear one message — or ten interpretations? (And would any of them be accurate?)
Consistency doesn't mean identical wording. It means shared understanding. And shared understanding doesn't happen by accident; you build it on purpose, before the message goes out, not after.
Measure whether you were understood, not merely whether you spoke.
Closing that gap — making sure what you intended is what actually moves people — is the heart of what I dug into on this week's podcast, below.
Podcast of the Week
I had a great conversation on The Curious Advantage with Paul Ashcroft and Garrick Jones about your “leadership voice” — the blend of your literal voice and your unique perspective, and how the two together decide whether your message lands or scatters.
We get into:
- why “Just Be Yourself” is terrible leadership advice
- the difference between influence, persuasion, manipulation, and performance
- why authenticity isn't the same as staying in your comfort zone
- how the Prismatic Voice helps you adapt to any audience without losing yourself; and
- why a few seconds of video feedback can expose blind spots you've carried for years.
🎧 Check out our conversation here: YouTube · Apple Podcasts · Spotify
Final Thought
Remember: it's great that your intentions were good, that everything made sense in your head, and that you told people everything you thought was important.
But influence is not measured by what was intended… it's measured by what moved.
