Leaders in any organization and at all levels are held to high standards and judged by their performance in important areas impacting the business: sales, operations, marketing, efficiency, and development of their people, to name a few. But many are not held accountable for communicating with employees, which is arguably the foundation for success for everything else.

Over the course of my career many leaders have lamented this: “Little I say seems to be resonating!?!?”

Although this can be very frustrating, it certainly does not mean that you should just stop communicating (as I’ve also heard…)

We all know how technology enables communication – email, voicemail, text message, instant message, Twitter . . . the list goes on. There are more than enough ways to communicate, and too often they add up to message overload for employees.

That’s why when something is important, nothing compares to face-to-face communication. When a leader needs to inspire people—or move them to action—the best way to do it is to look people in the eye and tell them exactly what they need to know.

There’s a bobblehead for everything these days: superheroes, athletes, celebrities, politicians and my new favorite—our Founding Fathers. Nothing says independence like a head-bobbing John Adams.

You know the meeting. Everyone nods in agreement during the meeting, and then leaves the room and does whatever they want. The senior-most leader leaves the meeting thinking, “Great, everyone’s on board and moving full speed ahead.”

This was an Oprah-like Ah-ha! Moment. One of those times where a light bulb clearly goes on.

Two senior leaders I’ve been working with recently have realized the power of storytelling, and especially with those stories that help others get to know them better.

When we plan and are purposeful, it can be relatively easy to communicate topics we support and care about. But how do you deliver messages that you don’t support or agree with?