Communication is a key activity for leaders – your team will take their cues on what is important by what you spend time discussing. People want to know how they and the organisation are doing; they need clarity and an opportunity to test their understanding. Beyond the content, you also communicate your values when you speak with honesty and courage.
Rachael Cowin, Associate, Legitimate Leadership.

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Question Of The Month

I feel like I communicate clearly, but my team says they’re confused. How do I fix this?

Why Clear Communication Really Matters

Creating an environment where people can thrive and perform at their best is a key function of leadership.  A characteristic of such an environment is that people know two things:

1. What is expected of them
2. Where they stand

In both cases, the onus is on the leader to give their people this knowledge with absolute clarity.  Often, this is where we trip up and fail.

Kind Leadership Is About Clarity, Even When It Stings

A recent article by Jeni-Anne Campbell offers a refreshing perspective on leadership and what it truly means to lead with kindness. The key message is simple: being a kind leader is not about avoiding difficult conversations or keeping everyone comfortable all the time. It is about being honest, clear, and consistent, even when the truth may be uncomfortable.

The article challenges the idea that “nice” leadership is always effective. In many cases, avoiding feedback, delaying decisions, or softening important messages creates more confusion and anxiety within teams. People perform better when they understand expectations, know where they stand, and receive feedback that helps them grow.

Question Of The Month 

By Paulette Daniels, Associate, Legitimate Leadership.

Question: I feel like I communicate clearly, but my team says they’re confused. How do I fix this?

Answer:  As a Legitimate leader, communication is not only about what is said but also about what is heard, understood, and experienced by others.

When a team says they are confused, it often indicates a gap between the leader’s intent and the communication’s impact. Leaders should slow down enough to check for understanding, create space for feedback and ensure alignment between their words, behaviour and expectations.

Clarity comes through repetition, consistency, context and genuine engagement. Rather than assuming the message landed, invite your team into the conversation by asking them to reflect on what they heard, what they understand their role to be and where they still feel uncertain.

Legitimacy is built through trust when people feel seen, heard, and included in the process, rather than simply instructed and compelled to align.

To submit your question, email info@legitimateleadership.com 

Article: Why Clear Communication Really Matters

By Dieter Janen, Associate, Legitimate Leadership.

Creating an environment where people can thrive and perform at their best is a key function of leadership.  A characteristic of such an environment is that people know two things:
1.    What is expected of them
2.    Where they stand

In both cases, the onus is on the leader to give their people this knowledge with absolute clarity.  Often, this is where we trip up and fail.

Communication is more than just speaking, more than just speaking and having someone else listen.  Communication is about the leader taking a picture in their mind and accurately transferring it to their people’s minds. And the full responsibility for ensuring this is done well lies with the leaders. Just saying “If you have any questions, you know where I am” isn’t good enough.  How would people know they might be wrong?

Let me describe this concept using a situation I had during a home-building project.  The agreement was that I would pay for the materials directly, and the building contractor would handle the construction.  In many cases, this meant I had to estimate the amount of material needed.  In essence, the plan worked well until we had to tile the walls in the 3 bathrooms.  We discussed the tasks and agreed that tiling would be done to the window height.  A clear specification that I could work with.  I calculated how many tiles we would need, added a bit for wastage, bought them, and the builder continued.  At one point, the builder let me know that they had run out of tiles and would have to make some contingency plans.  It was a semi-heated exchange. I wasn’t sure how we had messed this up, and in a very frustrated mood, drove out to the building site some 3 hours away.  As soon as I walked in, I saw the problem: the builder had tiled up to the tops of the windows, while I had calculated everything to the windowsills.  “Tile to window height.”  We had heard the same words but had understood different things.  Who was to blame? Clearly, buying more tiles was required to solve this problem, but who would pay?

Read the full article by clicking here

Article: Kind Leadership Is About Clarity, Even When It Stings

By Jeni‑Anne Campbell, founder of JAW Advertising

Comment on the article by Josh Hayman, Managing Director (South Africa), Legitimate Leadership: We have saying at Legitimate Leadership: “Giving is not about being nice, it is about being appropriate”.  This article by Jeni-Anne Campbell illustrates this principle with clarity.  Conversations we have in organisations often highlight that leaders experience things like Care and being Honest about anything difficult is a trade-off: “If I want to be seen to Care, I have to give up something in terms of Honesty. If I want to be honest about something that might be uncomfortable for a person to hear, I’ll give up something in terms of Care”.  When our Intent is to Give, Care and Honesty are inseparable.  You won’t be experienced as Honest if you don’t Care, and if you aren’t Honest, you won’t be seen to Care.

We don’t have to put one down to do the other. Do both.

Our summary of this article: A recent article by Jeni-Anne Campbell offers a refreshing perspective on leadership and what it truly means to lead with kindness. The key message is simple: being a kind leader is not about avoiding difficult conversations or keeping everyone comfortable all the time. It is about being honest, clear, and consistent, even when the truth may be uncomfortable.

The article challenges the idea that “nice” leadership is always effective. In many cases, avoiding feedback, delaying decisions, or softening important messages creates more confusion and anxiety within teams. People perform better when they understand expectations, know where they stand, and receive feedback that helps them grow.

One of the most powerful ideas in the article is that clarity is actually a form of care. Leaders who communicate openly create trust, accountability, and a stronger sense of stability within their teams. Honest conversations, when handled with empathy and respect, help people improve and feel supported rather than uncertain.

Read our full summary by clicking hereh awareness and intentional practice, every leader can learn to amplify the intelligence and potential of their team.