- Dan McKee
- Jul 28
- 3 min read
In every high-growth company, communication is constant—but clarity is rare.
Too many leadership teams fall into one of two traps:
Over-structuring every interaction until meetings become rigid, lifeless checklists.
Under-structuring communication, leaving reps misaligned and leadership flying blind.
The result? Noise, misalignment, and wasted effort.
Effective communication in leadership isn’t about more words—it’s about knowing when to add structure, and when to step back and listen.
Let’s dig into how the best leaders leverage both structured and unstructured communication styles to drive execution, unlock insight, and build trust.
What Is Structured vs. Unstructured Communication in Leadership?
Before you can master communication as a leadership lever, you need to understand the difference between structured and unstructured communication.
Structured Communication
Think of this as your operating system. It's intentional, repeatable, and time-bound.
Examples:
Weekly team meetings
Forecast calls
Quarterly business reviews
Pipeline reviews
Asynchronous updates
Strategic planning sessions
Purpose: Drive alignment, accountability, and performance execution.
Structured communication brings order and cadence to chaos. But it can’t do everything.
Unstructured Communication
This is where real insight and context often emerge. It’s spontaneous, relational, and fluid.
Examples:
1-on-1s (especially when run without rigid agendas)
Slack DMs and informal chats
Candid hallway conversations
Travel time with team members
“Got a sec?” drive-by coaching
Purpose: Uncover truth, build trust, and surface blind spots.
If structured comms keep the engine running, unstructured communication tells you what’s happening under the hood.
Why Most Leaders Get Communication Wrong
Most leadership teams over-rely on structure and underinvest in signal.
You get:
Surface-level updates
Misalignment masked by status updates
Empty talk with no coaching impact
The opposite extreme—purely unstructured communication—creates:
Confusion about priorities
Inconsistent messaging from leadership
Fire drills and reactive leadership
High-performing teams build communication systems that balance both modes intentionally.
The Power of 1-on-1s in Leadership Communication
Want to know the #1 red flag we see in sales orgs?
Leaders canceling or deprioritizing 1-on-1s.
1-on-1s are the single most effective context loop in a leadership communication system. They create space for:
Real-time coaching
Feedback in both directions
Pattern recognition
Clarifying what matters most
And yet, most teams treat them like an afterthought.
At High Achiever, we teach leaders to treat 1-on-1s as sacred ground for qualitative insight—not just another task on the calendar.
Because in high-performing teams, how leaders communicate is how they lead.
Why Effective Communication in Leadership Requires Both Modes
Structured communication provides the backbone of alignment.
Unstructured communication reveals the truth that structure often misses.
Neither works in isolation. Here's what happens if you rely too heavily on one:
Risk | Over-Structured | Over-Unstructured |
Insight | Stagnates | Gets lost |
Trust | Withers | Never formalized |
Accountability | Becomes compliance | Becomes optional |
Execution | Rigid | Reactive |
Leadership Communication Best Practices (Structured + Unstructured)
Here’s how high-impact leadership communication systems work:
1. Anchor Structure to Business Rhythm
Your leadership cadence should match your sales cadence.
Weekly:
Team huddles
1-on-1s
Monthly:
Pipeline audits
Cross-functional comms
Quarterly:
Strategy resets
Rep development plans
Consistency breeds clarity.
2. Use Unstructured Moments for Truth Discovery
Don’t schedule authenticity. Just be present and listen.
Ride along on sales calls
Ask, “What’s not working?” during 1-on-1s
Watch for repeated themes in Slack or meetings
Listen for hesitation—that’s where signal lives
These moments unlock trust—and signal what matters most.
3. Coach Managers to Use Both
Frontline managers shape the communication culture.
Train them to:
Prepare for structured reviews intentionally
Use unstructured touchpoints to coach and connect
Document insight themes for upward signal
Know when a moment needs structure vs space
This isn’t just theory—it’s the foundation of Building High-Performing Customer-Facing Teams.
Diagnosing Your Communication Imbalance
Ask yourself:
Are our meetings useful—or just routines?
Do reps feel heard—or just reviewed?
Are we surfacing issues early—or too late?
Is our communication system intentional—or ad hoc?
If your answer isn’t a clear “yes,” you’ve got a leadership leverage point waiting to be optimized.
Final Word: Your Team Doesn’t Need More Communication—They Need the Right Kind
Communication overload is real. So is communication underload—where the right messages never reach the right people.
If you're leading a team, remember:
Structure without trust is noise
Trust without structure is chaos
Leadership without communication is abdication
If you want a team that executes fast, adapts well, and grows without drama…
You need to build a communication system that balances structure and signal.
That’s what we help you do at High Achiever.
Ready to Build a High-Performance Communication System?
Schedule a strategy call with a High Achiever leadership specialist. We’ll show you how to create a communication rhythm that improves performance, deepens trust, and scales clarity.
