Rethink Communication to Elevate Business
- Jul 29
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 12
When organizations begin experiencing recurring conflict, slow decision-making, inconsistent execution, or unclear accountability, the instinct is often to improve communication.
Have another meeting.
Clarify expectations.
Provide more feedback.
Offer communication training.
While those efforts can certainly help, they often address the symptom rather than the source.
At Ascent, we believe communication is one of the earliest indicators that something deeper may be happening inside an organization. It's where leaders first notice friction—but it's rarely where the story ends.
During this complimentary executive masterclass, we explored a different way of thinking about organizational performance.
Terri Wilber opened the conversation by examining why communication is never as objective as we believe. Through the lens of neuroscience and human behavior, she demonstrated how unconscious filters influence every interaction, shaping what we hear, what we miss, and how easily misunderstanding can occur—even among highly capable leaders.
From there, Gabby Richardson expanded the conversation beyond the individual, exploring how recurring communication challenges often reveal larger organizational patterns. When the same misunderstandings continue to surface, leaders have an opportunity to ask a different question:
What if these aren't people problems at all?
Instead of viewing communication as the root issue, we explored how it can illuminate hidden organizational drag—misaligned priorities, unclear decision pathways, ambiguous accountability, and systems that unintentionally create friction despite everyone's best intentions.
When leaders learn to distinguish symptoms from root causes, they gain the ability to solve problems at the level where lasting change occurs.
Key Takeaways
Throughout the session, participants explored several ideas that consistently resonate with executive teams:
Communication challenges are often the first visible signal of deeper organizational misalignment.
Most organizational drag develops gradually, making it difficult to recognize while it's happening.
Repeating the same conversations is often an indication that the system—not the people—needs attention.
Sustainable organizational performance depends on alignment between people, communication, leadership, and the systems that support execution.
Leaders create greater impact when they become curious about recurring patterns rather than reacting to isolated events.
Watch the Recording
If you weren't able to join us live—or if you'd like to revisit the conversation—we invite you to watch the full recording by clicking the link below.
Please note you will be asked to sign in or create an account with Ascent. This is free and simply a way of protecting the integrity of our content.
Continue the Conversation
One hour can introduce a new perspective, but lasting organizational transformation begins with understanding your own patterns.
That's why every attendee received our Executive Reflection Tool, designed to help leaders identify hidden organizational drag across communication, accountability, leadership alignment, and organizational systems. Access to the Executive Reflection Tool is also available at www.MakeMyAscent.com/executive-masterclass
If you'd like to explore how these concepts apply within your own organization, we'd love to continue the conversation during a Strategic Alignment Session.
Other questions? Reach out to Gabby@MakeMyAscent.com
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