Message in a Bottle: The Power of Good Communication in Leadership

Good leaders lead good lives. This simple truth is at the heart of understanding what true leadership means. When we recalibrate our understanding of leadership away from worldly standards and back to biblical principles, we discover that leadership isn't just about what you do—it's about who you are as a child of God.

In our journey to become better leaders, we've already explored four essential keys: discernment, comprehension, humility, and perspective. Today, we'll uncover the fifth key that unlocks effective leadership: communication.

Why Do So Many Leaders Fail at Communication?

Many people who appear successful on the surface—CEOs with profitable companies, ministers with large congregations, authors with published books—often fail miserably at personal communication. They may inspire crowds but hurt those closest to them. Having a gift to preach, sell, or inspire is not an excuse to neglect the responsibility of leading a good life.

This is where our "message in a bottle" metaphor comes in. In movies, sending a message in a bottle across the ocean seems romantic, but in reality, it's an expression of reckless hope and abandonment. It's utterly futile.

Many people live their lives this way—sending random messages, hoping someone will respond, longing for significance and value. They're like castaways on lonely islands, sending SOS signals to a world that can't save itself.

What Does the Bible Say About Poor Communication?

Proverbs 26:6 warns us: "He who sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet, sabotages himself, and drinks the violence it brings on himself as a consequence."

This is a stark warning about the dangers of poor communication. When we fail to communicate effectively, we sabotage ourselves and invite negative consequences into our lives.

How Can We Communicate Like Good Leaders?

Jesus gives us the answer in John 16:13. He tells us that the Spirit of Truth will guide us into all truth and will "declare, disclose, and transmit" what belongs to Jesus.

These three words—declare, disclose, and transmit—outline the complete process of effective communication:

1. Declare

You must articulate your message or vision clearly. This involves understanding how the receiver is designed to receive information. You can't send AM radio signals to an FM receiver. You can't talk Chinese to someone who only speaks Spanish. Part of this first stage is effectively getting the message out in a language your receiver understands.

2. Disclose

Context matters. Showing a tiny section of a painting doesn't mean you've shown the painting. Deceitful people love to use a fact or a bit of truth to withhold the rest of the matter. Remember: 98% truth is 100% lie. Be thorough in disclosing, divulging, and revealing the matter being messaged.

3. Transmit

Who cares how sincere or beautiful the message is if you have a corrupt delivery system? This includes things like timing. A ministry that only declares a message but can't disclose and transmit it means nothing. A business with vision and goals that fails to transmit to customers is doomed to bankruptcy.

When Does the Medium Become the Message?

The late Marshall McLuhan famously coined the phrase, "the medium is the message." This is profoundly true in leadership.

You are the container, the vessel of the message inside you. Some preachers preach about love, but their words are powerless because they mistreat their families. God's word is powerful, but the medium speaks loudly. Unfaithful messengers will ultimately convey an unfaithful message.

Jesus said in Matthew 15:11, "It is not what goes into the mouth of a man that makes him unclean and defiled, but what comes out of the mouth." What's in the bottle comes out of the bottle. It's that simple.

What Makes Communication Fail?

Good leaders study not only what works but also why things don't work. According to Luke 6:45, "Good people do good things because of the good in their hearts, but bad people do bad things because of the evil in their hearts. Your words show what is in your heart."

In the Book of Jude, God warns about people who "corrupt themselves and are destroyed" through their communication. They are described as "inveterate murmurers, grumblers who complain of their lot in life, going after their own desires, controlled by their passions. Their talk is boastful and arrogant, and they claim to admire men's persons and pay people flattering compliments to gain advantage."

Good leaders don't murmur, grumble, or complain. They aren't boastful or arrogant. And they don't flatter to gain advantage.

How Does Everything We Do Communicate?

It's not just words that message from your life. Actions speak. Your attitude talks. Your silence speaks. Your facial expression, your attention, your absence—all communicate something.

When you show up early or late, when you bow your head, lift your hands, write an email, refuse to return a text, ignore an invitation, refuse to use someone's name, stare inappropriately, break promises—you're sowing messages along the shoreline of your life and into your future.

What Is the Fifth Key to Good Leadership?

The fifth key to good leadership is communication. Good leaders are intentional about good communication. That means not only the right words but the right tone, the right time, and the right place.

Imagine telling your spouse "I love you" with the wrong tone. It doesn't work, does it? Communication without authentication is simply intellectual constipation.

Life Application

Your assignment has eternal consequences. You get to interrupt the evil messages people are being sold in this world. When they hear they're worthless, you can interrupt with the truth that they're loved by God Almighty—priceless and irreplaceable.

This week, challenge yourself to:

• Examine your communication. Are your words, tone, timing, and actions aligned with the message you want to convey?

• Ask yourself: "What message is my life sending?" Remember, you are the vessel of the message inside you.

• Identify one person who needs to hear a message of truth and hope. How can you effectively declare, disclose, and transmit that message to them?

• Reflect on Jesus' words in John 15:7: "If you live in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you." Are you abiding in Christ so His message can flow through you?

Good leaders lead good lives. You've got to live it to lead it before you preach it. Let your life do the talking for you. Walk it first, and when the time is right, then talk it. Without the right message in your life, you produce bad outcomes. But with Christ's words abiding in you, you'll produce the fruit of good leadership.

~Dr. Stephen Marshall