How does management lose millions through miscommunication? Six areas where top management should act as one voice
In business, management communication is often treated as a "soft topic." Something that is important, but not as important as results, budget, strategy, or sales. Meanwhile, the reality is completely different: communication errors at the top management level can cost a company more than a misguided marketing campaign or poor recruitment.
Why? Because management communication acts as the nervous system of an organization. How management communicates its expectations and agrees on a position directly affects:
the pace of goal achievement,
the culture of responsibility,
the quality of decision-making in the company,
manager engagement and turnover,
trust in the organization.
Below, I present six areas in which management should communicate consistently and professionally—and I show why this is one of the key competencies of top management today.
1. Strategic goals: lack of clarity = lack of implementation
In many organizations, employees do not "ignore the strategy." They simply do not understand it.
The most common mistake is that management communicates strategy in a way that is:
abstract ("development," "innovation," "efficiency"),
lacking priorities,
detached from operational activities.
In practice, people do not implement the strategy, but their own interpretation of priorities. This creates chaos, conflicts of interest, and waste of resources.
Good strategic communication means that management is able to answer three questions in a simple and understandable way:
what is most important this year,
what are we stopping doing,
how will we know when we have achieved our goal?
2. Priorities: the biggest conflict in a company takes place in the minds of managers
Middle managers often operate under the pressure of conflicting expectations. One member of the management board pushes for sales growth, another for cost cutting, a third for quality improvement, and a fourth for speed.
It's not their fault — it's the result of a lack of consistency at the top.
The lack of commonly communicated priorities results in:
internal wars over resources,
passing the buck,
a decline in efficiency,
the creation of silos,
employee overload.
If a company is to achieve its goals, management must speak with one voice, especially when it comes to priorities.
3. Decisions: an organization does not need "meetings," it needs decisions
One of the most costly phenomena in companies is "decision fog." Topics are discussed, debated, analyzed—but decisions are not made.
From the organization's perspective, it looks like this:
it is not clear what is current,
it is unclear what has already been approved,
it is unclear who is responsible,
people act on their own.
Management decisions must be communicated like a final product: clearly, concisely, without ambiguity, specifying:
responsible,
deadline,
expected result.
4. Difficult situations: a crisis reveals whether management is a leader or just a function
Every company experiences crises: declines in sales, departures of key employees, conflicts with customers, legal problems, restructuring, or changes in the business model.
At such times, people do not evaluate management based on spreadsheets. The assessment is simple:
is the management in control of the situation?
Communication mistakes in a crisis include:
silence,
overly general messages,
avoiding responsibility,
blaming others,
internal conflicting messages.
Management consistency in difficult situations is critical—because it determines the motivation, morale, and loyalty of the organization.
5. Internal conflicts: employees see more than meets the eye
Management boards are often convinced that conflicts are "kept in the boardroom." In practice, the organization sees everything:
which departments are favored,
who is not talking to whom,
which topics are blocked,
where there is a war of influence.
Conflicts are not the problem — the problem is when the board is unable to work through them and transform them into constructive debate.
This brings us to a key issue: many management boards need not only strategy, but also top-level negotiation and communication skills, because management is a daily negotiation: for influence, priorities, budgets, and direction.
6. Company culture: the management board builds it not with words, but with consistency
Organizational culture is not created by slogans on the wall or HR presentations. It is created by what the management board does.
If the management board:
talks about transparency but hides information,
talks about responsibility but does not enforce results,
talks about cooperation but fights internally,
then the culture of the organization will be exactly the same: inconsistent.
On the other hand, a consistent management team that operates in an orderly manner builds a company based on:
trust,
predictability,
responsibility,
high efficiency.
Summary: consistent management is the fastest way to increase a company's efficiency
You can have a great strategy and a good product, but if management communicates chaotically, the company operates more slowly, wastes resources, and loses its competitive advantage.
That is why communication at the top management level is a strategic competence today. Its development is not a cost — it is an investment in the pace of the organization's operations.
If you are looking for managerial board training in Poland, check our offer: