Most Leaders Don’t Have a Communication Problem. They Have an Intent Problem.

Communication is inseparable from leadership. Not as a theory, but as a daily reality.

Leaders guide, motivate, and develop people largely through how they communicate. It’s how priorities become shared understanding. It’s how strategy turns into action. And it’s how trust is built, or quietly eroded, over time.

Yet many leaders struggle with communication. Not because they lack intelligence or experience. Most leaders are thoughtful, capable, and deeply committed to their organizations.

The issue is simpler, and harder, than that.

Most leaders misunderstand what communication actually is.

Communication is not about what is said. It is about what is heard.

That distinction sounds obvious, but it is where most leadership communication breaks down. Leaders focus on delivering information instead of shaping understanding. They prepare slides, rehearse talking points, and move efficiently through agendas, assuming clarity will take care of itself. It rarely does.

Strong leadership communication starts with intent. At its core is a simple discipline built around three words: Think, Feel, Do. These words are not a slogan or a framework to memorize. They are a way of slowing down before you speak and being more deliberate about how you show up as a leader.

Think 

Before communicating, leaders need to be clear on what they want people to think when the conversation ends.

Not what they want to say.
Not what they want to explain.
What they want people to think.

This requires stepping out of your own perspective and into the audience’s.

In work with organizations that are forming, growing, or changing, conversations about growth plans are constant. Growth might mean expanding membership, increasing influence, or driving adoption of new technology. The details vary, but the communication challenge is remarkably consistent.

If people leave the room unsure whether the plan makes sense or feels achievable, the message didn’t land. It doesn’t matter how thorough the analysis was or how polished the presentation looked.

The same dynamic shows up in highly technical environments. We work closely with the PCI Security Standards Council, a global organization responsible for payment card security standards. Their mission is straightforward: protect credit card data from people trying to steal it. The technology behind that mission evolves constantly.

At one point, an encryption method called Wireless Equivalent Privacy, or WEP, was widely used. Over time, attackers figured out how to break it. The standard had to change. PCI could no longer allow WEP.

The communication challenge wasn’t technical accuracy. It was clarity of thinking. Listeners needed to walk away, understanding that the technology no longer worked, that the risk was real, and that action was required. If they couldn’t clearly answer “What changed and why does it matter?”, the communication failed.

A simple test helps here. When you’re done preparing, imagine the meeting is over and ask yourself, “What do I want people to think about this?” If the answer isn’t crisp, more work is needed.

Feel 

If “Think” is the most straightforward step, “Feel” is the one leaders skip most often.

Many leaders resist the idea that they’re responsible for how people feel. They see their role as delivering facts, not managing emotion. That resistance is understandable. It’s also incomplete.

People’s ability to hear a message is deeply shaped by how they feel while receiving it. Stress, fear, and uncertainty narrow attention. Calm, trust, and psychological safety expand it. Ignoring emotion doesn’t remove it. It just means emotion will shape the message without intention.

Consider something as ordinary as communicating changes to a company’s health insurance plan.

One approach goes straight to the facts. New provider. New premiums. Here’s the number to call with questions.

Another approach delivers the same information but acknowledges what’s at stake. Health insurance affects families. It affects security. It affects peace of mind. It explains the care taken in selecting a partner and the effort made to manage cost increases.

Both versions share the same data. Only one builds trust.

People may forget the specifics of what you said, but they remember how the message made them feel. That emotional residue shapes how future messages are received.

Leaders in other arenas understand this instinctively. As a coach, I learned that different situations require different emotional preparation. Before a game where we were outmatched, I wanted my team to feel prepared and steady. Before a game where we were clearly more talented, I wanted them just uncomfortable enough to stay sharp.

Bill Belichick was famous for this. Even when the Patriots were dominant, he found ways to make his teams feel like they had something to prove. Not fear for fear’s sake. Focus.

Leaders have similar tools. Voice, pace, tone, body language, and rhythm all matter. Short, direct sentences can signal urgency. A slower pace can convey calm. Tone can create safety or shut it down entirely. These choices should be deliberate, not accidental.

Do 

Every communication should lead somewhere. Something should be different when it ends.

That’s the essence of “Do.”

Too often, leaders assume the next step is obvious. It isn’t. When direction is vague, people hesitate, interpret, or wait. When direction is clear, people move.

Audiences should never leave a meeting wondering what happens next. Clear direction isn’t heavy-handed. It’s respectful. It honors people’s time and attention by removing guesswork.

There’s a well-known story about Tip O’Neill leaning across the breakfast table on Election Day and asking his wife for her vote. The power of that moment wasn’t persuasion. It was clarity. Even when the ask feels obvious, saying it out loud matters.

Effective “Do” answers simple questions. What are we doing next? Who owns it? When will it happen? How will we know if it worked? These answers turn communication into action.

Without this step, communication becomes commentary. With it, communication becomes leadership.

The Discipline of Intent 

Think creates understanding.
Feel creates openness.
Do creates movement.

Together, they offer leaders a simple way to slow down before they speak and be more deliberate about how they show up. Not because every message needs to be perfect, but because every message carries weight.

This discipline matters most when conditions are less than ideal. In moments of change. In moments of uncertainty. In moments when people are looking for advice about what matters and where to focus next. In those moments, communication is doing more than transferring information. It is setting the tone.

Intentional communication does not mean having all the answers. It means deciding how you want your words to land and what you want them to make possible. It means giving people clarity when things feel noisy and direction when things feel unsettled.

When leaders take that responsibility seriously, communication becomes steadier. More consistent. More trustworthy. And over time, it becomes one of the quiet ways that leadership shows up day after day.

When leaders communicate with intent, their words stop being commentary and start doing the work of leadership.

Written by Andy Freed.
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