Study after study shows the importance of effective communication in business, and leaders are responsible for ensuring that their ideas are communicated to their team members. However, good communication isn’t a quality that can be condensed into stats and data; it needs to be practically seen and understood. So, what are some real-life examples of leaders who showed incredibly effective communication?
Five times leaders showed effective communication are:
- Jeff Bezos’ snack-sized information approach.
- João Lopes’ carpool karaoke idea.
- Kenneth Lin’s open-door policy.
- Joel Gascoigne’s email transparency.
- Suvi Koivusalo’s commitment to speaking the audience’s language.
Please keep reading to learn more about these approaches and how they affected communication at an organization-wide level as I take you through each of these instances and explain why the strategies used were so successful. If you want to get inspired to achieve better communication with your team and inspire your team members, you’ve come to the right place.
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1. Jeff Bezos: Snack-Sized Information
If there’s one person we should all be taking notes from when it comes to leadership and business management, it’s Jeff Bezos. The man turned his garage-based online bookstore into a worldwide organization worth over a trillion dollars.
One of the qualities that allowed Amazon to operate at its total capacity is the swift, effective internal communication system implemented by Bezos. Throughout the day, dozens of what you can call “bite-sized” memos are sent to personnel. These memos are less than 100 words long and relay important messages and updates that can help co-workers and departments coordinate better.
These memos are less than 100 words long and relay important messages and updates that can help co-workers and departments coordinate better.
2. João Lopes: Carpool Karaoke
João Lopes, CEO of Porta Branca Consulting, took one of the most innovative approaches in the industry in his efforts to increase employee engagement and overall job satisfaction.
He took everyone by surprise when he started his company’s very own carpool karaoke show. In an industry that’s usually so formal, this change was warmly welcomed by employees, who could finally decompress a bit at work and talk about themselves in casual interviews. This left them feeling appreciated and relaxed.
Not only were they getting their VIP time and feeling like celebrities, but they also got to know the people they were working with better, improving internal communications significantly.
3. Kenneth Lin: Open-Door Policy
Another innovative and effective communication strategy was Kenneth Lin’s open-door policy. The Credit Karma CEO insisted on an open working space where employees would feel equally valued, informed about the company they were working for, and more encouraged to communicate with one another.
Removing physical barriers between co-workers and departments helped improve cooperation and communication, improving overall performance.
Removing physical barriers between co-workers and departments helped improve cooperation and communication, improving overall performance.
4. Joel Gascoigne: Email Transparency
Another unorthodox approach proved highly successful in improving employee engagement and performance when Joel Gascoigne made all company emails and essential financial documents public to employees. The CEO of the social media management company Buffer stated that this decision was made based on the fact that trust, necessary for successful teamwork, is built on transparency.
His approach made the workforce feel better informed about the organization they were working for and more encouraged to contribute to its success. The increased access to essential documents also made workflow much more efficient. Employees could promptly find what they needed to get the job done instead of having to input several requests.
5. Suvi Koivusalo: Speaking the Audience’s Language
Last, I’d like to highlight Suvi Koivusalo’s commitment to speaking the audience’s language, as good communication is vital among team members and between the company and its audience.
Koivusalo noticed that most companies released stiff, impersonal communications to the public, making it difficult for the audience to relate and connect with the organization personally.
That’s why Game Captains started articulating its statements in a digestible way by the audience. As a result, consumers began to feel much more connected to the company and more prone to choosing its products.
…most companies released stiff, impersonal communications to the public, making it difficult for the audience to relate and connect with the organization personally.
| Leader | Communication Strategy | Impact on Communication |
| Jeff Bezos | Snack-sized information | Swift and effective internal communication system through the use of bite-sized memos less than 100 words long |
| João Lopes | Carpool Karaoke | Increased employee engagement and overall job satisfaction by providing a casual environment for employees to get to know each other and decompress |
| Kenneth Lin | Open-door Policy | Removal of physical barriers between co-workers and departments to improve cooperation and communication |
| Joel Gascoigne | Email Transparency | Improved employee engagement and workflow efficiency by making all company emails and essential financial documents public to employees based on the principle of transparency |
| Suvi Koivusalo | Speaking the Audience’s Language | Improved connection and relation between the company and its audience by communicating in a more digestible way that resonated with the audience |
What Are 3 Examples of How Good Leaders Communicate?
Three examples of how good leaders communicate include:
- Thomas Buberl’s company-wide employee appreciation events.
- Scott Shaeffer’s two-way transparency policy.
- Mark Evans’ innovative internal communication practices.
Thomas Burble, the CEO of the successful insurance firm AXA, took it upon himself to address the issue of decreasing employee engagement. Instead of issuing a few familiar encouraging words (which he knew from experience wouldn’t work), he hosted company-wide events that helped employees decompress, bond as a team, and feel like their job was appreciated.
Engagement promptly increased, proving once again that good communication doesn’t always need to be verbal.
Engagement promptly increased, proving once again that good communication doesn’t always need to be verbal.
Schott Schaeffer is the CEO of Zappos, an online retail company that’s been operating for more than two decades now. The company’s success has been greatly influenced by its leader’s effective communication strategies, including the organization-wide two-way transparency policy.
Due to this policy, employees are instantly updated as soon as a new piece of information enters the system, and their questions or complaints are addressed promptly and honestly. This makes every team member feel appreciated and, more importantly, part of something bigger. As a result, performance and engagement maintain an impressive level that explains the company’s success.
Last but not least are Mark Evans’ innovative internal communication practices. Evans is CEO of the telecommunications company O2, which consistently comes out on top of any “Companies with the highest level of employee engagement” list.
The secret behind this achievement? Evans’ complete internal communications system. The CEO insists that short, quick memos are sent as soon as there’s an update on the company’s operations. He also employs a famous DJ to host an exclusive company-wide radio show to which employees can listen monthly and get updated on crucial company-related news.
O2 also has its TV channel, which employees can tune into to get updates on company-related affairs, notifications regarding their co-workers, and general business news.
As you can see, there’s more than one way for leaders to communicate effectively with their team members; a little creativity can go a long way.
