Communication Instead of Chaos: Why 80% of All Team Problems Are Not Technical Issues
- Dominique Giger
- Aug 15
- 3 min read
A leader’s success is inseparably linked to their ability to lead people. Leadership is more than strategy and numbers. Leadership is about relationships and it is built on conversations.This is exactly where many teams fail: not because of a lack of expertise but because of failed communication.
Up to 80% of all team problems are not technical issues but communication issues. Numerous studies in business and organizational research confirm this. Yet in day-to-day leadership, communication is often treated as a "soft skill" or as a side issue, something that will somehow work itself out.
This is a fatal mistake. Communication is not merely the exchange of information. It determines trust, collaboration, motivation and ultimately performance. If a leader does not actively shape it, they lose time, energy and often their best talent.
Three Levels That Decide Between Success and Failure
What makes communication effective?At its core, it is based on three levels that act like supporting pillars:
Content level: What is being said? This is about facts, goals and tasks. It is about clarity.
Relationship level: How is it being said and by whom? This is determined by body language, tone of voice and credibility.
Emotional level: How does what is said feel? Which emotions are being conveyed consciously or unconsciously?
Many leaders are strong on the content level. Yet resistance in teams often arises when the emotional level is left unaddressed. To create real impact, you need more than clean PowerPoint slides. You must create connection through genuine interest and intentional language.
Psychological Safety: The Invisible Performance Engine
A central concept here is psychological safety. It describes the feeling team members have when they are free to speak up with ideas, mistakes and doubts without fear of being ridiculed or ignored.
Leaders who foster such a climate strengthen creativity, collaboration and resilience.It starts with a clear intention before every conversation: What do I want to achieve? Do I want to learn, understand, support or do I want to be right?
Simple actions such as open-ended questions, daily emotional check-ins or active listening can make an enormous difference.
Practical Tools for Everyday Leadership
To deliberately shape communication, the following tools are helpful:
Daily team check-ins, where everyone briefly shares how they are feeling
A healthy feedback culture that uses feedback to learn and grow
Clearly defined team norms that establish shared communication standards
Small everyday gestures such as a thank-you, an honest question or a genuine "I see you"
These seemingly simple measures create the foundation for trust, which is the basis for better decisions, faster processes and smoother collaboration.
Communication Is Leadership Work
The key shift in perspective is this: Communication is not a soft skill. It is leadership work. And it can be trained with awareness, practice and feedback.
It is not only about what we say, but how we say it and how we make others feel in the process. Because that is what people remember.
About the Author
Dominique Giger is a speaker, executive coach and transformation expert. She holds a degree in Computer Science from ETH Zurich and combines 18 years of international project experience with deep expertise in strategy and neuroscience. In her podcast “Y-SHIFT - The Next-Level Mindset and Transformation Podcast” she provides practical insights for building modern, healthy high-performance cultures.
🎧 Listen to the podcast episode (in German): “Conversations That Connect: How to Communicate as a Leader With Impact and Depth”
YouTube: https://youtu.be/MCUwy4rdUPc
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