Executive communications is never easy. Most leaders will always have their hands full, balancing strategic priorities with day-to-day demands, with 60+ hour working weeks. With time short and pressure at it's peak, there's little room for any mistakes.
Yet, most executives don’t realise they’ve made communication errors until it’s too late. Worse still, many fail to learn from them.
If you’re reading this as a leader yourself, this article might very well be the nudge you need to make positive changes or double down on what you’re doing right.
Here we share 9 common pitfalls executives make and how to avoid them.
As executive thought leadership specialists, it won’t surprise you when we say that senior leaders should always communicate with key audiences directly.
While corporate communications play a crucial role in maintaining brand consistency and stakeholder trust, hiding behind a logo is often more damaging than leaders realise.
In fact, our research shows that visible leadership improves a company’s performance and recruitment outcomes significantly.
The reason why is simple. Visible leaders often come across as more relatable and trustworthy than the organisations they represent.
They show that they care about more than just profit, are more influential in driving change, and are more accountable for their decisions.
So, when it comes to seeking investment, hiring top talent, or driving culture change, they tend to do better than their competition because they’ve struck a lasting chord with audiences across social media, earned media, and in-person engagements.
And in terms of personal benefits, they build a better, industry-recognised profile that supports their own ambitions, whether that’s earning a promotion or launching their own business.
Failing to communicate clearly is one of the most damaging mistakes any executive can make, especially in an age when offhand remarks can be screenshotted and reshared within seconds.
And yet, it happens all the time.
Executives rush to make statements under pressure, act on impulse, or frame messaging in the wrong way, leading to misunderstanding, broken trust, and reputational damage in minutes.
But it's nearly always avoidable.
Executives should never take anything for chance. It's best practice to review any external-facing content with an internal comms lead or PR agency before it goes out into the world.
This helps ensure messages are informed, well-pitched, and free from inflammatory language.
Of course, most of the time, there won’t be an issue. But it only takes one post, quote, or comment to trigger a crisis that, in some cases, can take months to resolve.
Transparency and clarity are essential. But there’s a fine line between being informative and overwhelming.
Bombarding audiences with too many updates, too much technical detail, or too many personal reflections can reduce engagement and blunt the impact of your most important messages.
Instead, executives should focus on crafting short, sharp updates with a clear takeaway.
While personality, data, and context are all valuable when used appropriately, they should never come at the expense of readability and impact.
Posting frequency also matters. According to members of our team, executives should aim for 2–3 posts per week to remain visible without overshadowing their organisation's broader communications strategy.
Do this, and entire product launches can fail. Focus on quality over quantity.
The best executives always stay attuned to the evolving needs of their customers, employees, investors, and peers to show they genuinely care.
When they don’t, they risk appearing out of touch, whether by focusing too much on internal wins, using overly technical jargon, or speaking more about themselves than the people they serve.
This doesn’t just impact brand perception. It weakens trust and hands competitors the opportunity to capitalise on engagement themselves.
Executives don’t need to be everywhere. But paying attention to LinkedIn feeds and industry news, and prioritising stakeholder feedback and meetings, will always go a long way.
Executives can then use what they learn to create better, more relevant, and forward-thinking content that resonates and aims to deepen relationships.
Empathy is a fundamental trait of great leadership. Yet, it’s often absent from executive communication.
Whether it’s addressing a workforce restructure, responding to public criticism, or announcing a product delay, too many leaders fall into the trap of being overly robotic.
They focus on facts and outcomes but forget to acknowledge the human impact.
On the other hand, when leaders show empathy by recognising frustration, appreciating effort, or simply thanking people for their patience, they build goodwill, even in difficult moments.
This can lead to a willingness among employees to stay and grow with their company, and even become more productive.
Empathy doesn’t require overexplaining or emotional language. It just means being mindful of how people might feel and reflecting that in your tone, approach, and actions.
In a crisis, this is especially crucial.
Recent stats show that 74% of employees feel out of the loop due to poor internal communication. That’s a big wake-up call for executive leadership.
While a CEO can craft a polished image online, if employees feel ignored, undervalued, or misaligned, that reputation won’t last long.
Team morale will plummet, turnover will increase, and missed targets inevitably become routine.
That doesn’t mean sending more all-staff emails will fix the problem. Instead, leaders must prioritise regular face-to-face interactions, alignment meetings, and culture-building events to be more present.
It also means listening. Employees want to feel heard, not just talked at, and know their feedback leads to positive changes. Otherwise, what's the point?
The most experienced leaders can read the room. They know when a message is landing and when it’s not.
Without this skill, executives risk misjudging everything from investor interest to employee sentiment. The result? Delayed decisions and damaged relationships.
Case-in-point, in every meeting, whether in-person or virtual, leaders should observe body language as closely as they listen to words.
Crossed arms, lack of eye contact, or disengaged posture are clear signs that something’s off.
While it’s easy to miss these signals, especially when trying to push through a decision, doing so can cost more in the long run than pausing to reassess the situation.
If this means turning away a highly qualified interview candidate, so be it. The same goes for potentially transformative investors who don't have your company's best interests in mind.
Timing is everything in executive communications. It can be the difference between a message that lands and one that’s ignored, essentially determining a campaign's success.
Executives who weigh in at the right moment, on policy changes, industry news, or cultural conversations, stand apart by showing they are switched on, adaptable, and influential.
Meanwhile, executives who make out-of-date claims are openly undermining their credibility without knowing it.
Take the CEO who comments on new legislation the day it drops. They’ll be seen as a go-to voice. Wait a week, and they’re just another voice among a sea of others.
The same rule applies in a crisis. Delayed responses only create a vacuum for others to steal the narrative and intensify it needlessly.
This is why executives should always stay ahead of their industry and peers by maintaining awareness, carefully planning responses, and then acting fast when it counts.
As the old saying goes... No one notices you when you're early. But everyone sees when you're late.
So far in 2025, executive communications have centred on creating calm, clear confidence, the kind that reassures stakeholders amid ongoing economic turbulence and geopolitical tensions.
In 2026, these pressures are only set to intensify. If there were ever a time for leaders to double down and sharpen their communications, it’s now.