In the complex environment of modern business, one fundamental skill upon which leadership success hinges on is communication skill. Whether you are addressing shareholders in a boardroom, negotiating with suppliers, or inspiring your team through a challenging period, the ability of a leader to communicate clearly, persuasively, and authentically determines his effectiveness.

Communication skills are extremely important in leadership. This is not merely about being eloquent or charismatic. Rather, it is about mastering the art of transferring ideas, vision, and purpose from your mind to others in a way that motivates action and builds alignment.


True communication involves dialogue. This distinction separates great leaders from mere managers. Any communication that does not consider feedback has lost its sense of purpose. Since it is a dialogue, it means the receiver, who in this case are the team members must be allowed to express their opinion.

Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, exemplifies this principle through his company’s “Ohana Culture,” which emphasizes a family-like communication where every voice matters. Benioff regularly conducts “listening tours” where he meets with employees at all levels, not to deliver messages, but to receive them. He understands that when team members are not allowed to express their opinion, it is no longer communication but slavery: a command-and-control structure that stifles innovation and engagement.

This dialogue-based approach proved crucial during Salesforce’s rapid growth phases. By maintaining open communication channels, Benioff was able to identify operational challenges early, understand employee concerns, and adapt strategies based on frontline insights. The result has been a company culture that consistently ranks among the best places to work, even as the organization has scaled to over 70,000 employees globally. Good communication skills are not limited to passing the right information but also include the ability to listen attentively, respond appropriately, and empathize compassionately. This comprehensive approach to communication sets exceptional leaders apart from their peers.

Oprah Winfrey’s leadership of her media empire demonstrates the power of empathetic communication. Throughout her career, Winfrey has shown a remarkable ability to connect with people by truly listening to their concerns, fears, and aspirations. When she transitioned from television host to media mogul, she applied these same listening skills to her leadership role. Her team members often speak about feeling genuinely heard and understood, which has translated into extraordinary loyalty and performance.

Leaders must also be able to read what is written and unravel what is not said. This skill of reading between the lines is perhaps the most sophisticated aspect of leadership communication. It requires emotional intelligence, cultural awareness, and the ability to notice subtle cues that reveal the true state of your unit or department. Great leaders develop an almost intuitive ability to sense what their team members are not saying directly. This skill becomes crucial during times of change, crisis, or uncertainty when people may be reluctant to voice their true concerns.

Reed Hastings of Netflix mastered this during the company’s controversial transition from DVD to streaming. While public communications focused on the strategic rationale, Hastings had to read the unspoken concerns of employees who feared for their jobs and shareholders who questioned the dramatic pivot. By acknowledging these unstated concerns directly and addressing them with transparency, he was able to maintain team cohesion during one of the most challenging periods in the company’s history.

Managing communication across diverse stakeholder groups requires adaptability and precision. The message that resonates with the engineering team may fall flat with the board of directors. The communication style that works with longtime employees may not connect with new hires from different cultural backgrounds. Indra Nooyi’s tenure as CEO of PepsiCo showcased this multi-stakeholder communication mastery. She had to communicate simultaneously with Wall Street analysts demanding short-term results, employees concerned about job security during restructuring, consumers increasingly focused on health and sustainability, and board members navigating competitive pressures. Her approach was to maintain consistent core messages while adapting the delivery method, examples, and emphasis for each audience.

Also, leaders must be able to write fluently for easy understanding. In the current digital age, written communication often forms the foundation of leadership influence. Emails, strategic documents, and digital messages reach more people more frequently than in-person interactions. Warren Buffett’s annual letters to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders are masterclasses in clear, engaging written communication. Buffett takes complex financial concepts and investment strategies and explains them in language so clear that any intelligent reader can understand them. His written communications have educated generations of investors and business leaders while building trust and confidence in his leadership.

Finally, communication is not a soft skill; it is the operating system of leadership. Teams do not fail because they lack effort, rather, they fail because they lack shared understanding. Master communication with a clear intent, open feedback, empathetic listening, and precise writing and you unlock consistent execution, trust, and sustainable high performance.

Oluwole Dada is the General Manager at SecureID Limited, Africa’s largest smart card manufacturing plant in Lagos, Nigeria.