Communication Breakdown: 6 Causes & How to Avoid Them

9.11. The Capitol riots. The COVID-19 Pandemic. These are just a few highly publicized examples of where a communication breakdown (among other factors) contributed to devastating consequences. And it’s not just high-profile news examples that suffer from communication breakdowns. Our consulting team hears it often from both employees and leaders in all types of organizational settings: “Communication around here is pathetic!” From information not being shared to information being misunderstood. From conflicting messages to inaccurate information. Communication has much in common with my physical body these days – it has a tendency toward atrophy! The natural path of communication is to break down, and that can only be slowed or corrected by intentional action. Here are some of the common causes of a communication breakdown as well as ways to prevent it from happening.

1. Fear of being caught.

Fear is a powerful driver of human behavior. When I was a kid, my two brothers and I were told not to eat some cookies. But one of them did, and neither of them would own up to it even after some serious “discipline” from my mom. To this day, we still don’t know which one actually ate those cookies! (Notice I was an innocent party for once.) This is the power of the fear of being caught. Some people allow fear to keep them from communicating, or they will only communicate partial information, especially when it is bad news.

2. Fear of being wrong.

Another thing that causes communication to break down is the fear of being wrong. “What if my concerns prove to be wrong?” “What may be the impact on my relationship with others if my information was incorrect?” “How stupid will I look if I am wrong?” Such fear can cause people to withhold information rather than share it because they believe the impact of being wrong is greater than the benefit of being right.

3. Fear of losing power.

Information is power, right? When I know something that you don’t, it gives me leverage, makes me more valuable, and may even provide job security. Have you ever had a new idea but held it close because you wanted the credit for it? Or have you withheld information because you wanted your department/division to get the credit even though sharing the information would provide greater benefit to the mission? That is the fear of losing power. In some cases, this can also be driven by pride and wanting even more power.

4. Fear of being punished.

An employee of a nonprofit organization once said to me, “No one will tell the boss the truth because he doesn’t want to hear it and he punishes those who do.” Candor is a highly valued behavior… until it isn’t. Every leader says they want their team to practice candid communication, but many team members are suspicious of that because they have seen the skeletons of those who have done so. Thus, they decide to live in silence.

5. Thinking you thoroughly communicated.

Quite different from fear, this cause is a result of believing that you did communicate thoroughly and clearly! But as we all know, communication is messy and complex. There have been many times when I was convinced I provided clear and specific communication only to find that those around me did not hear my communication the way I thought I shared it. (Obviously, it was their mistake!) So, even when you believe you have communicated clearly, don’t assume so.

6. Assuming that others already know.

It’s easy to make this mistake. And it often happens quite innocently. In the midst of busyness and under the pressure of rapid-fire demands, we assume that we do not need to share information because it must have already been shared. In other words, we assume people think just like us. We assume they would have checked with legal and HR. We assume they talked with their team first. We assume they double-checked the report for accuracy. We assume they asked for feedback from others. While assumptions are common, they can also be damaging and even deadly.

4 Ways to Avoid Communication Breakdown

Here are four ways to fix communication breakdowns in our organizations and teams.

1. Model openness and transparency from the top. How unusual and refreshing was it to hear cornerback James Bradberry acknowledge that the penalty against him and the Eagles during Superbowl 57 was accurate? That’s transparency! The more a leader lives out the value of open and frequent communication, the more others will see that it is both good and expected.

2. Seek to increase learning rather than punishing. If your first response is to punish those who make mistakes, it will result in fear and even less communication. Goal #1 should be learning and growth before blame and punishment. Remember, punishment never surfaced which brother stole the cookies.

3. Assume less and test assumptions more. It is common for us to assume. It saves us time in the short run. But when dealing with important communications, always test your assumptions as a leader and never assume that communication actually took place.

4. Reduce internal competition and hierarchy. If people are in competition with others or trying to make their team look good at the expense of others, communication frequency and accuracy will suffer. The fear of saying the wrong thing to the wrong person also contributes to breakdown. Leaders should set the tone and culture by crushing unnecessary hierarchy and pushing back against unhealthy competition.

If your team has felt the effects of a communication breakdown, contact us to learn how our coaches can help you to put practices in place to avoid them.

Jay Desko is the President & CEO of The Center Consulting Group and brings experience in the areas of organizational assessment, leadership coaching, decision-making, and strategic questioning. Jay’s degrees include an M.Ed. in Instructional Systems Design from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Leadership from The Union Institute.