How's Your Organization's Blood Pressure?

It’s inconspicuous. It’s subtle. It’s a silent killer.

No, not hypertension—at least not the medical kind. I’m talking about poor organizational communication.

In medicine, hypertension is dangerous because it often goes unnoticed until something catastrophic happens—a heart attack, a stroke, or worse. The same is true in business. Communication breakdowns rarely show up as clear symptoms—they quietly build up over time until suddenly you’re dealing with the organizational equivalent of a cardiac event:

Top performers resign without warning
Key client relationships start to fray
Priorities become murky
Deadlines slip and accountability fades
Engagement surveys flatline

By the time the warning signs are obvious, it’s already doing damage.

Why Communication Is the Lifeblood of Performance

In most organizations, communication is the work. Every goal, every project, every sale, every customer interaction is built on hundreds of conversations and micro-moments of clarity or confusion.

When communication flows well, people are aligned, customers feel cared for, and performance improves. When it doesn’t, even the most brilliant strategy struggles to survive execution.

In fact, research by Watson Wyatt (now Willis Towers Watson) found that companies that significantly improve employee communication increase their market values by 15%.

That’s not a soft skill—it’s a strategic advantage.

Four Pressure Points Every Organization Should Monitor

Just as a physician checks different systems in the body, leaders should assess the key “arteries” of organizational communication:

1. Executive Communication

Clarity starts at the top. Leaders must consistently translate vision into a clear story—one that connects strategy to purpose and inspires action. Without that narrative, people fill the gaps with their own assumptions.

2. Managerial Communication

Managers are the circulatory system of any organization. They cascade messages and turn direction into daily action through coaching, feedback, and performance conversations. When managers communicate poorly, strategy stalls.

3. Team Communication

Today’s work happens in teams—often cross-functional and virtual. Teams that communicate openly make faster decisions, resolve conflict more productively, and innovate more effectively.

4. Customer Communication

At the end of the day, the pulse of the business is your customer. Employees who can clearly articulate value, ask insightful questions, and respond with empathy, create loyalty that no marketing budget can buy.

Diagnosing Organizational Hypertension

Poor communication often goes undetected because it hides behind symptoms like “low engagement” or “execution issues.”

But the root causes are remarkably consistent:

Unclear strategy or shifting priorities
Lack of intentional communication planning
Underdeveloped interpersonal skills at all levels

Leaders who treat communication as an “HR issue” miss the chance to address a systemic performance driver.

The Prescription

Just like managing blood pressure, prevention and early intervention matter most. Here’s what I recommend:

Conduct a communication audit. Get real data on how messages flow—or don’t—across levels and functions.
Reinforce communication skills. Equip every leader and manager with the tools to coach, listen, and communicate with clarity.
Create simple structures. Meeting templates, feedback frameworks, and storytelling tools go a long way in reducing friction.
Model it from the top. Communication habits cascade downward. When executives are transparent, consistent, and human, others follow suit.

The Heart of Organizational Health

Communication is not just a soft skill. It’s the heart that powers organizational performance. If the flow is strong, every part of the organization benefits—culture, engagement, innovation, and ultimately, results.

So, here’s the question for every leader:

When was the last time you checked your organization’s blood pressure?

Take Our Free Organizational Communication Assessment

We've created a simple assessment to help you diagnose the health of your organization's communication across all four pressure points. It only takes three minutes to complete, and you'll receive a personalized report which includes the common root causes of communication breakdowns and suggested next steps.

Ready to check your organization's blood pressure? Take the assessment here.