More than communicating, today's leaders must focus on being understood

Engaging leaders as effective communicators is one of the biggest challenges faced by internal communication organizations. According to annual surveys of the Brazilian Association of Business Communication (Aberje) in partnership with the agency Integrated Action, this difficulty was identified by 64% of companies in 2024, 74% in 2023 and 70% in 2022. These data make clear the challenge of companies: in a corporate world that produces and receives information at all times, more than being heard, leaders need to be understood by their leaders.

The secret? TEDx Speaker and communication specialist, Giovana Pedroso“It is necessary to go beyond superficial conversations and first exchanges of words. It is to listen to what has not been said, which represents a huge challenge”, highlights Giovana.“Often the problem is in context, manifested by nonverbal signs. An employee who starts to arrive late and, when questioned, blames the alarm clock, may be dealing with more serious personal problems. Body language, such as looking at the floor or closed posture, can reveal much more”, he adds.

To decipher the lines between the lines, Giovana points out trust and respect as fundamental attributes. “Only that unlike respect, trust does not arise only from formal authority. The relationship between leader and leader is built on the exchanges established every day, in good, clear and frequent conversations, in small demonstrations of interest and true concern for the other”, lists the communication specialist.

Good practices for managers

According to the expert, the benefits of clarity and humanity in the communication of a leader go beyond healthier relationships in the professional environment.“Can represent, in the last line, the increase in the company's results, considering that the construction of healthy professional relationships reduces turnover and stimulates creativity”, she highlights.

With this in mind, some practical contributions can help managers understand and be more 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; and

●  Facts above opinions: decisions should be based on facts, avoiding personal biases that can distort reality;

● Objective and fast feedback: focus on the situation and not 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 ideas, it is more dialogue about the proposal than about who is the author;

● Reflect before you speak: cris Argyris of Harvard Business School suggests splitting a sheet in half: on one side, write what you think; on the other, what really should be said.