Engaging leaders as effective communicators is one of the biggest challenges faced by internal organizational communication. According to annual surveys by the Brazilian Association of Corporate Communication (Aberje) in partnership with the Integrated Action agency, this difficulty was identified by 64% of companies in 2024, 74% in 2023, and 70% in 2022. These data make the company's challenge clear: in a corporate world that produces and receives information constantly, more than being heard, leaders need to be understood by their followers.
The secret? For theTEDx Speaker and communications expert, Giovana Pedroso, is first to understand. "It is necessary to go beyond superficial conversations and initial exchanges of words. It is to listen to what was not said, which represents a huge challenge," highlights Giovana. "Often, the problem lies in the context, manifested through non-verbal signals. An employee who starts arriving late and, when questioned, blames the alarm clock may be dealing with more serious personal issues. Body language, such as looking at the ground or having closed posture, can reveal much more," she adds.
To decipher the subtext, Giovana points to trust and respect as fundamental attributes. "However, unlike respect, trust does not arise solely from formal authority. The relationship between leader and follower is built through daily exchanges, through good, clear, and frequent conversations, through small demonstrations of interest, and genuine concern for the other," lists the communication specialist.
Good practices for managers
According to the specialist, the benefits of clarity and humanity in a leader's communication go beyond healthier relationships in the professional environment. "It can be represented, in a final line, the increase in the company's results, considering that building healthy professional relationships reduces turnover and stimulates creativity," he emphasizes.
With this in mind, some practical contributions can help managers understand and be better understood:
● Clear objectives for meetings:Clearly define the purpose of the meeting and educate the team to do the same. The more specific the goal, the more productive the conversation will be;
● Facts over opinions:decisions must be based on facts, avoiding personal biases that can distort reality;
● Objective and fast feedback:focus on the situation and not on personal judgments when giving feedback, but be direct and quick when providing feedback;
● Encourage team ideas:encourage participation and sharing of ideas, but do not focus on the authorship of the ideas, it is more a dialogue about the proposal than about who the author is;
● Think before speaking:Question your own thoughts before communicating. Cris Argyris, from Harvard Business School, suggests dividing a sheet in half: on one side, write what you think; on the other, what truly needs to be said. This helps to avoid biases and hasty judgments.
