As an executive coach, I’ve spent this year in the seats of CEOs, listening, observing, and intervening.
I’ve seen brilliant minds, ambitious visions, and capable teams.
And I’ve seen something else: a gap.
A gap between what is meant and what is said.
Between what could be and what gets executed.
One of the biggest breakdowns? Language.
Not what you say so much as how you say it.
If you’re a CEO or senior executive, here’s the truth:
Your voice is your leadership. How you speak is how you lead.
The Disconnect Between Vision and Voice
Consider “Alex,” CEO of a regional credit union.
At a leadership offsite, he introduced their next-stage goal with a line that sounded like it came straight from a finance deck:
“We want to position ourselves for steady, year-over-year ROA growth while maintaining strong capital ratios and reducing operating expenses.”
Accurate? Sure. Inspiring? Not even close.
Two issues stood out:
- “We want to” made it sound like a passive wish, not a firm commitment.
- The entire message was framed around financial targets, no vision, no connection to member impact, and no clear call to action for the team.
To the leadership group, it felt like another quarterly update, not a rallying cry.
There was precision, but no passion.
Alignment on metrics, but not on meaning.
So, we rewrote it.
Here’s what Alex said instead:
“By December, we will launch three member-led advisory councils, each responsible for improving a key area of our member experience: lending, digital access, and financial wellness. Each of you will sponsor one. I expect initial results and next-step recommendations in 90 days at our meeting.”
After that meeting, Alex told me:
“The shift was immediate. The team went from quiet head-nods to asking, ‘Can we involve frontline staff in shaping the council charters?’ They suddenly saw where they fit, and what success looked like.”
What changed:
- Clarity. The outcome was tangible.
- Ownership. Leaders knew what they were accountable for.
- Anticipation. They could see the path forward and wanted to contribute.
As many leadership communication experts argue, choosing your words deliberately is not optional; it’s a strategy.
Because if your message doesn’t land, neither will your leadership.
Your Language = Your Leadership Presence
Let’s talk about the three layers of your leadership voice:
1. Internal communication (board, team, members):
If you speak in ambiguous, passive, or too technical language, your team senses it. They don’t know whether to act. They don’t know what you expect.
2. External communication (industry, community, media):
What message are you broadcasting? Are you embedded in jargon, or are you offering clarity and influence that fosters a sense of community?
3. Personal voice (you, in relationship to yourself):
Do you say: “I need to…” “I hope to…” “I’d like to…”
Do you say: “I need to…” “I hope to…” “I’d like to…”
Or do you say: “I will…” “I am…” “Here is what I need from you.”
Over time, your voice builds your self-trust or erodes it.
Make the Shift: Speak Like the Top 1%
Here are three actionable moves for today:
1. Replace passive with active.
Change “We will hopefully…” to “We will.”
Change “I want you to try…” to “I need you to take the lead on…”
Change “We will hopefully…” to “We will.”
Change “I want you to try…” to “I need you to take the lead on…”
2. Ditch the filler words that soften you.
Words like just, maybe, should, could all shrink presence.
Words like just, maybe, should, could all shrink presence.
One CEO I worked with removed “just” from his vocabulary for two weeks.
He said: “It felt like I was speaking from an entirely different identity.”
3. Frame your message in visceral, human terms rather than abstractions.
Instead of “member-centric digital transformation”, say:
Instead of “member-centric digital transformation”, say:
“Every time a member walks in, we want them to leave saying: ‘I’m personally recognized and I belong here.’ That’s what you’re building.”
Research backs this: storytelling and direct language deepen credibility and inspire. (Harvard Business Review+1)
The Bigger Picture: Why This Matters
The pace of change is faster than ever.
Traditional hierarchies are dissolving.
Attention is harder to hold.
And even the most connected teams often feel scattered and distracted.
In that kind of environment, impact becomes fragile.
Trust takes longer to build and is quicker to break.
And influence, the kind that truly moves people, can’t be taken for granted.
You can have the smartest strategy in the room and a highly capable team behind you. But if your voice doesn’t land, if your words don’t spark clarity, conviction, or action, then nothing shifts.
Leadership today demands more than execution. It demands communication that connects.
Final Thought
If you’re a CEO ready to step fully into your voice and your role as a visionary, then your language must evolve.
This isn’t about perfect grammar.
It’s about aligned intent, clear purpose, bold action.
So ask yourself:
- What one phrase am I saying today that weakens my presence?
- What one sentence could I say instead that galvanizes my team?
- How will I show up differently in my next conversation so that people feel moved rather than merely informed?
Want to learn more about speaking like the top 1% to build high-trust communication and grow your influence? Connect with us HERE.