But they might have a listening problem.

One of the biggest workplace misconceptions is that communication simply means giving people information.

Sending the email.
Holding the meeting.
Doing the update.
Having the “one-on-one.”

You know… “I did that! Now it’s done!”

But as Karen Kirton from Amplify HR said in a recent conversation with me, communication consistently shows up as one of the lowest-scoring areas in employee engagement surveys, even in businesses that believe they communicate really well. This is because a lot of workplaces are communicating at people, not with them.

There’s a big difference between:

  • checking on work
  • and checking in with humans.

A task update is not the same thing as connection.

People actually want clarity.
They want context.
(And they want contextual clarity).
They want to feel considered.
They want to feel secure enough to ask questions, give feedback, or admit when something isn’t working.

When these things are missing, humans – the meaning-making creatures we are – will naturally fill in the gaps themselves.

Assumptions grow. Gossip goes off. Tension creeps in.

As Karen said:

“When people don’t have information, they fill it with assumptions. Those assumptions become reality.”

This becomes even more relevant as businesses grow.

Once teams become larger, communication gets more layered, more siloed, and often more transactional. Often leaders assume messages are trickling down clearly, while team members assume silence means something negative. Everyone thinks they’re communicating, but nobody feels fully connected.

Underneath all of it is usually one core issue:
a lack of intentional listening.

Not listening to respond.
Not listening to defend.
Not listening so you can explain why people are wrong.

Actually listening.

Workplace communication is actually deeply relational, as much as we may pretend it’s not, so it’s time to treat it that way.

It’s why psychological safety matters.
It’s why trust matters.
It’s why leadership vulnerability matters too.

One of the most powerful things leaders can do is become more aware of themselves.

Their communication style.
Their blind spots.
Their assumptions.
Their strengths.
Their defaults under stress.

When leaders understand themselves better, they’re more able to recognise that other people won’t think, process, communicate, or regulate the same way they do. The more you understand you have any of these emotive or mindset experiences, the easier it is to acknowledge other people have these experiences too.

That awareness changes teams, particularly when you consider neurodivergence, different communication needs, personality differences, and the reality that not everyone processes information the same way.

Sometimes what looks like disengagement is simply a different processing style.
Sometimes what looks like resistance is uncertainty.
Sometimes what looks like poor communication is actually a lack of safety.

Sometimes people simply need permission to say:
“This way of communicating doesn’t work well for me.”

Of course, this approach requires trust and intentional trust-building in order to simply believe each other and that the other person means what they say.

But trust isn’t built through slogans or culture statements.
It’s built through repeated experiences where people feel heard, respected, and safe enough to be honest.

I think most people want to create better workplaces.

They’re just busy.
Or overwhelmed.
Never learned how.
Or do okay with it, but aren’t sure how to replicate or repeat it more intentionally.

Which means the solution often isn’t making communication more complicated.

It’s making it more human.

You can listen to episode 203 of the Get Jasched podcast here – with guest Karen Kirton of Amplify HR.