The ability to share relevant information clearly, consistently, and at the right time to keep others aligned, informed, and empowered. It involves being transparent about decisions, tailoring communication to the audience, and maintaining open, timely updates that support clarity, collaboration, and trust.
“The two words ‘information’ and ‘communication’ are often used interchangeably, but they signify quite different things. Information is giving out; communication is getting through.” Sydney J. Harris
Why informing others matters
Informing others matters because most of the frustration, misalignment, and quiet distrust in a team traces back to a simple failure: something mattered to someone, and it didn’t reach them in time. A leader who informs well keeps people aligned without having to constantly check in, because the right information already reached the right person before they needed to ask for it. This isn’t about volume, more updates aren’t automatically better, it’s about the right information reaching the right person in a form and at a time they can actually use it.
Without deliberate informing, people are left to fill gaps with assumption, rumour, or their own worst-case interpretation, and by the time a leader realises something wasn’t understood, the damage of the guesswork has often already been done. Selective or inconsistent informing, even when unintentional, quietly signals who’s really trusted and who isn’t, and that signal is remembered long after the specific piece of missing information is forgotten. Leaders who inform consistently and transparently build a team that spends its energy on the work itself, rather than on decoding what’s actually going on.
“The art of communication is the language of leadership.” James Humes
What good and bad informing others looks like
| What bad looks like | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| Shares information too late, once decisions are already final or a moment for input has passed. | Shares information while there’s still time for people to ask questions or act on it. |
| Informs some people consistently and others only sporadically, creating an inner circle without meaning to. | Informs people consistently and equally, regardless of how close or convenient the relationship is. |
| Delivers messages that are vague or open to interpretation, leaving people unsure what’s actually being asked of them. | Delivers clear, specific messages that leave little doubt about what’s happening and what’s needed. |
| Defaults to the same channel, usually email, regardless of how complex or sensitive the message actually is. | Chooses the channel to fit the message, using a real conversation for anything nuanced or sensitive. |
| Uses the same message and level of detail for every audience, regardless of what they actually need to know. | Tailors the message, detail, and tone to what a specific audience actually needs in order to act. |
| States conclusions without explaining the reasoning behind them, leaving people to trust the outcome on faith. | Shares the reasoning behind a decision, not just the decision itself, so people can follow and learn from it. |
| Treats informing as one-way broadcasting, with no way to check whether the message actually landed as intended. | Builds in a way to check whether information actually landed, and adjusts based on what comes back. |
| Withholds information that would help people do their job better, whether from habit, oversight, or discomfort. | Defaults to sharing more of the picture rather than less, treating withholding as the exception that needs justifying. |
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” George Bernard Shaw
Barriers to informing others
Communication blind spot: Some leaders don’t see informing others as necessary and may overlook its importance in the broader context of leadership. Because the cost of under-informing is rarely immediate, it’s easy to mistake the absence of complaints for the presence of understanding.
Inconsistency: Leaders may communicate sporadically or favour some people over others, leading to significant gaps in information flow and alignment. Over time, people notice the pattern even if it was never intentional, and start reading who’s kept close and who isn’t from who gets told what.
Mistiming: Informing others too late or at the wrong time can lead to missed opportunities, confusion, or the feeling of being an afterthought. Even accurate information delivered too late carries much the same cost as no information at all, since the window to act on it has already closed.
Unclear communication: Messages may be vague or ambiguous, leaving others uncertain about the actual information shared or the actions required. Ambiguity doesn’t stay neutral, people fill the gap with their own interpretation, and that interpretation is rarely the one intended.
Inadequate frequency: Leaders may provide too little information or communicate infrequently, leaving teams feeling uninformed and disconnected. Long silences between updates don’t read as calm, they read as something being withheld, whether or not that’s true.
Too busy: Being overwhelmed by tasks can lead to neglecting the fundamental need to inform others regularly and thoughtfully. Informing is easy to postpone precisely because skipping it once rarely causes visible harm, which is exactly what makes it easy to keep postponing.
Inappropriate channels: Using the wrong medium, relying solely on email for a complex discussion, for example, can lead to poor understanding or misinterpretation. The channel shapes how carefully a message gets read: a nuanced point sent quickly in writing is often skimmed rather than absorbed.
Not attuned to the audience: Failing to consider who needs to know what information, and when, can lead to key stakeholders being left out or misinformed. A message built for one audience often fails a different one entirely, even when the underlying facts are exactly the same.
Lack of feedback loops: Leaders may not seek or listen to the data and communication needs of others, leading to a one-way flow of ineffective information. Without a way to check what actually landed, a leader can keep sending clear messages for months without ever learning they weren’t being understood.
Low consistency in sharing: Leaders may intentionally withhold information or fail to provide updates and follow-through, creating information silos and deep-seated mistrust. Trust, once eroded by a pattern of withholding, is rebuilt far more slowly than it was lost.
“Openness and honesty always work better in the long run.” Warren Buffett
Enablers of informing others
Raise your transparency: Share your thinking openly, from the initial issue to the final decision. Often, people need to understand how you arrived at your conclusions. Document and explain your decisions step-by-step to help others learn and grow.
Share the bigger picture: Avoid being a minimalist. People are more motivated when they see how their work fits into the larger organisational goals. Regularly share information about the broader impact and encourage questions to keep everyone aligned.
Be more open: If you tend to work alone or hold back information, ensure you’re still sharing key updates with relevant people. Don’t be the source of surprises; make sure your peers and team know what they need to stay effective.
Master the basics: Good communication involves concise and frequent updates. Keep your points brief, ask questions, and summarise regularly. Clarity ensures that everyone understands the current status and next steps.
Keep the flow going: Inconsistent informing leads to confusion. Develop a system or checklist to ensure you’re regularly sharing the right information with the right people. Seek feedback from your stakeholders to see if they’re getting what they need.
Refine your communication style: Polish your delivery by eliminating habits like overusing filler words, speaking too fast, or being overly detailed. Simplify complex ideas, use visual aids, and vary your tone to keep others engaged.
Communicate 360: Avoid selectively informing only certain groups. Consistency is key. Reflect on why you might be withholding information from some and whether it’s affecting trust. Ensure all relevant parties are kept in the loop.
Be courageous: Sometimes you need to deliver tough messages. Even if it’s uncomfortable, informing the right people at the right time can prevent larger issues later. Be thoughtful about when and how you deliver sensitive information.
Prep for pushback: Informing others isn’t always met with positivity. When faced with criticism or defensiveness, separate the message from the emotion. Keep discussions constructive and handle people issues privately.
Time it deliberately: Don’t wait until information is fully finalised before sharing relevant updates. Give people what they need while they can still act on it, even if that means sharing a work-in-progress picture with a clear caveat that it may change.
Raise your adaptivity: Different audiences require different approaches. Tailor your message, style, and medium to suit who you’re addressing, considering their preferences, background, and the level of urgency.
“Communication is not about speaking what we think. It is about ensuring others hear what we mean.” Simon Sinek
Reflection questions on informing others
Are you clearly sharing the reasoning behind your decisions? Could you do more to articulate the steps in your thought process so others can follow how you reached your conclusions?
Do you consistently provide your team with the bigger picture? How well do you help others understand how their work connects to wider goals?
Are you holding back information that others might find valuable? Do you ever find yourself working in isolation or rationing updates? How might you improve transparency?
Are you practising the core principles of effective communication? How well do you balance brevity with clarity? Are you regularly summarising and asking questions?
Do you have a reliable system for ensuring consistent updates? How organised are you in tracking what information needs to be shared, with whom, and when?
Is your communication style clear, engaging, and free from distractions? Are there any verbal habits that might dilute your message? How could you refine your delivery?
Are you sharing information equally across all levels and groups? Do you find yourself selectively informing certain people? How could you ensure all relevant parties are in the loop?
Do you address difficult topics with courage and thoughtfulness? Are you willing to share tough information when it’s necessary? How could you improve your approach?
How do you handle resistance or negative reactions when informing others? Do you maintain calm and focus when faced with defensiveness? Could you develop strategies to keep discussions constructive?
Are you tailoring your communication to suit different audiences? How well do you adjust your tone, style, and medium? Could you be more strategic in choosing when to write versus when to speak?
“Communication works for those who work at it.” John Powell
Micro practices for informing others
1. Send the update before you’re asked: Build the habit of proactively sharing status before someone has to come and ask you for it. Being asked for an update is usually a sign that the system already broke down once.
2. Write the one-line version first: Before writing a longer update, write the single sentence that matters most. Lead with that sentence, then add detail underneath, rather than making people read to the end to find out what actually changed.
3. Name who else needs this: Before sending any significant piece of information, pause and ask who else, beyond the obvious recipient, would benefit from knowing it. This one habit closes most of the accidental gaps that create silos.
4. Ask “did that land?”: After sharing something important, ask directly whether it made sense or whether anything is unclear, rather than assuming silence means understanding. Silence is at least as often confusion as it is agreement.
5. Match the channel to the weight of the message: Before sending, ask whether this message is light enough for a quick message or heavy enough to need a real conversation. Sensitive or complex information sent quickly in writing usually costs more time later than it saved upfront.
6. Share the version that isn’t finished yet: When something is still in progress, share the current thinking anyway, clearly labelled as provisional, rather than waiting for a polished final version. People can plan around uncertainty; they can’t plan around silence.
“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” Tony Robbins
Explore related leadership resources
To further develop this capability, examine how it intersects with other core leadership dimensions across the libraries:
Leadership library:
- Executive Presence: Project confidence and credibility while delivering information, ensuring your message carries the weight and authority needed to influence stakeholders.
- Presenting: Transform complex data into clear, compelling narratives that keep your audience engaged and aligned with organisational goals.
- Emotional Intelligence: Read the room and adjust your communication style to meet the emotional needs of your audience, fostering deeper trust and understanding.
- Written Communication: Master the art of clear, concise, and professional documentation to ensure alignment across dispersed teams and time zones.
Supporting libraries
- Detail interest (Traits): Leverage your focus on accuracy to ensure the information you share is precise, thorough, and minimizes ambiguity.
- Articulating intent (Traits): Move beyond just sharing facts by clearly explaining the ‘why’ behind decisions to empower others to act autonomously.
- Independence (EQ-i): Balance transparency with the confidence to stand by your decisions, providing clear direction even when working autonomously.
Continue exploring: Return to the Leadership Library to view the full directory of competencies and resources.