IntroductionEffective leaders understand the importance of strong communication skills. It is critical that employees understand the vision of the department or company and how they are responsible for achieving goals, which must be communicated by leadership. It is equally important for leaders to ensure the accuracy of the communication they provide. Leaders must also take into account how their employees receive information and the quality of the message they send. In this essay I will share my experiences of ineffective or infrequent communication from my boss. I will explore how poor communication can be viewed negatively and finally recommend how leadership can strengthen their communication skills. My Experience My boss is located at our corporate headquarters in Richmond, Virginia; I live in Southern California. We are separated by geography and time zones, which unfortunately affects our communication with each other. We often communicate asynchronously via email and occasionally via Office Communicator, an instant messaging tool. We have scheduled one-on-one meetings twice a month, but unfortunately our meetings are often canceled due to conflicting priorities. Even though I am clear about my goals and like my boss, I sometimes get frustrated with his lack of communication. There have been times when he assumes I know something when I don't. Sometimes he withholds information or approaches situations by avoiding the topic altogether. Sometimes he overcommunicates about things that would be best kept to himself until the time is appropriate to share information and until due diligence has been performed. Last November, my boss joined us… middle of paper… …the ability to influence your teams to do great things, and communication is an important tool. Effective communicators understand the need to be understood, but more importantly they understand the needs of their employees and how they receive information. Works Cited Neufeld, D., Wan, Z., & Fang, Y.. (2010). Remote leadership, communication effectiveness, and leader performance. Group Decision and Negotiation, 19(3), 227-246. Retrieved September 1, 2011 from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1987353871). Rammage, J. D., & Bean, J. C. (1998). Writing Arguments (4th ed.). Retrieved from http://courses.durhamtech.edu/perkins/aris.html.Sanborn, M. (n.d.). How leaders communicate; part I. Retrieved from http://www.marksanborn.com/blog/how-leaders-communicate-part-1Sanborn, M. (n.d.). Why leaders fail. Retrieved from http://www.leadershipnow.com/sanborn.html