In Finnish workplaces, clear communication largely lives or fails at the team level. It shapes how people perform, how new colleagues integrate, and whether employees feel safe enough to think out loud.
Aspidistra spoke with Johanna Hattingh, founder of The Human Hub, a coaching and facilitation practice centred on clarity and human change, about what actually shifts when leaders and team leads communicate more plainly and more bravely at work.
The hidden cost of poor communication
What is the hidden cost to a company’s bottom line when clear internal communication practices are neglected?
When internal communication is unclear, hesitant or driven by fear, it affects culture and quietly impacts operational performance. The cost is rarely captured in a single metric, but it is felt across the organisation. The real cost of poor communication is everything that never gets said.
Problems go underground with the cost seen in areas like slow decision-making, an increase in rework and inefficiencies, a decline in the quality of thinking, a drop in engagement and, ultimately, talent is lost.
Stretch vs. burnout in high-pressure environments
How can leaders stretch their teams without causing burnout?
The difference between stretching and burnout is not the workload, but how clearly the stretch is communicated and held. When expectations are explicit, priorities are named, and recovery is spoken about openly, teams can stretch and return stronger. When communication is vague or silent, the same workload can quickly tip into burnout.
Through clear communication, some sustainable conditions leaders can create include:
- Clarity: People can handle a lot when leaders clearly articulate what matters most, what success looks like right now, and how each person’s work contributes. Unspoken priorities force teams to guess, which drains energy fast.
- Balance: Stretch requires recovery, and recovery must be named. Saying out loud when the intensity will peak and when it will ease helps people pace themselves without guilt.
- Psychological safety: Clear communication sets the tone for speaking up. When leaders explicitly invite questions, doubts and alternative views, teams are more likely to raise issues before they escalate.
- Early signals: Low energy, disengagement or reduced creativity are often communicated quietly or not at all. Leaders who check in regularly and name what they observe can intervene early, before burnout takes hold.
- Role modelling: Teams follow what leaders do more than what they say. Communicating boundaries by taking breaks, disconnecting and naming limits gives others permission to do the same.
Stretch becomes sustainable when leaders don’t rely on assumptions or endurance, but on clarity, consistency and saying the quiet parts out loud.
Supportive culture isn’t about being “nice”
What is one aspect of building a supportive team culture that is commonly misunderstood in leadership training?
Supportive team culture is not built on being “nice” – it’s built on making it safe to be honest.
In leadership training, a “supportive culture” is often interpreted as being approachable, being kind and avoiding tension. Teams don’t struggle due to a lack of kindness; they struggle when people hold back what needs to be said.
Research, including Google’s Project Aristotle, highlighted that high-performing teams consistently demonstrate two core behaviours: talking and listening. Yet, in practice, leaders miss opportunities to build a supportive team culture because:
- Feedback gets softened or avoided, resulting in unclear expectations and missed growth opportunities – leaving team members feeling confused.
- Difficult conversations are delayed – some team leaders think that by waiting, things will resolve themselves.
“Psychological safety” is misread. It’s often seen as comfort, harmony and agreement. But it’s the ability to disagree, the willingness to challenge, the space to speak honestly without negative consequences.
What builds a supportive culture is clear expectations, timely, direct feedback, leaders who model honesty with care and space for different perspectives – not just aligned ones.
Creating space for international voices
What do Finnish companies regularly miss when trying to integrate international talent?
Integration doesn’t fail because of capability. It struggles because the rules of the game remain invisible. Much of Finnish workplace communication is governed by tacit assumptions and implicit coordination, where norms are absorbed rather than explained.
For international professionals, especially in roles where tone, voice, and nuance matter, this creates a gap. So, they spend energy decoding instead of contributing.
They are hired for their perspective, creativity and communication skills, but enter a system where expression is more restrained, feedback is subtle, and visibility is low. Over time, this can lead to their voices getting diluted or they become quiet.
The most effective organisations don’t just onboard international talent; they make their culture explicit and open to interpretation – clarifying expectations, norms and communication styles while creating space for new voices to shape how the culture evolves.
Integration is not about fitting people into a fixed system, but about creating the clarity and openness that allows talent to truly contribute.
How can teams ensure that international talent feels heard in an environment where people might not naturally speak up?
Many organisations are committed to hiring international talent, although few organisations are equipped to fully integrate their new talent. But many Finnish workplaces have unwritten rules around communication and feedback.
Autonomy is offered and is regarded as a sign of trust, but without context, new professionals can find themselves trying to “figure it out”. Here are some tips to help make a difference:
- Recognise that silence has different meanings – it can mean somebody is thinking, is uncertain or is respecting cultural differences. Don’t interpret it too quickly. Rather, follow up with a 1:1 conversation, ask more open-ended questions or allow time.
- Try using multiple channels and not just meetings. Some people express themselves better in writing after having time to reflect and gather their ideas.
- Being heard shouldn’t depend on how loudly someone speaks, but on how intentionally we create space for them to contribute.
When communicators struggle with their own voice
For communicators who spend their lives defining the voice of brands, why is it often harder for them to find and trust their internal voice?
Professionally trained communicators, especially those working in marketing and communication, are trained to focus their work outward: on what the audience needs, what the right words are, tone, nuance, etc. Over time, this outward focus becomes second nature.
Communicators have mastered how to shape the voice of others but haven’t always had the space to listen to their own. For many, finding and trusting their own inner voice can be surprisingly difficult.
Over time, the inner voice – often a critical, negative voice – becomes highly skilled and active, resulting in feelings of self-doubt, inner criticism and over-analysis.
The starting point is self-awareness. Once communicators are aware of this, they can choose their desired outcome. With the right strategies and techniques, it becomes possible to reconnect with a more authentic, confident inner voice.
Adapting without losing yourself
Finland is known for direct, honest and often quiet communication. For professionals arriving from high‑energy or more expressive cultures, how can they adapt without losing their personality?
Adapting can be challenging because the cues are different. For team leads and managers, recognising this adjustment phase is critical to integration and performance.
The goal is not for international colleagues to “become Finnish,” but to be understood and able to function effectively without losing who they are. Neither communication style is better – just different. When leaders make this distinction explicit, it reduces friction and misinterpretation on both sides.
Adapting does not mean changing personality, but adjusting how communication shows up in context. Leaders can support this by encouraging and modelling:
- Reframe assumptions: What may look like disengagement could be quiet listening or reflection. Pause before interpreting behaviour.
- Reading the room: Pay attention to how much people speak, and what tends to carry weight when they do.
- Using energy intentionally: Encourage authenticity while helping team members apply their strengths with situational awareness.
- Being deliberate: Support clarity around when to speak, what to say and how messages land in this environment.
- Letting results speak: In many Finnish workplaces, consistent work and outcomes build credibility faster than visibility or verbal presence.
Adapting communication is not about suppressing identity. It’s about ensuring people’s voices are heard and valued in a different context – and leaders play a decisive role in making that possible.
One small step forward
What is one small step those who feel stuck in a new cultural environment can take to start their transition?
For the professional navigating internal doubt, a new environment or the question of how to show up, the shift does not need to be dramatic. Start small. Confidence comes from showing up before you feel ready. It is built one brave sentence at a time.
Say one thing you would normally hold back. One idea, one perspective, one contribution – it doesn’t have to be perfect or fully formed; just voiced.
Two elements support this step. The first is self-awareness – notice what you are thinking and feeling, pause, and choose your next small action with intention.
The second is your relationship with your inner critic. Rather than trying to silence it completely, begin by reframing it. Shift from “I am not good enough” to “I am contributing.”
Over time, these small moments build something much bigger.
FAQ: Internal communication in Finnish workplaces
What is the hidden cost of poor internal communication?
Poor internal communication leads to slow decision‑making, disengagement, rework, talent loss and reduced psychological safety, even if it doesn’t show up directly in KPIs.
Why is psychological safety often misunderstood at work?
Psychological safety is not about comfort or agreement. It is about being able to speak honestly, challenge ideas and disagree without fear of negative consequences.
Why do international professionals struggle in Finnish workplaces?
Many communication norms in Finland are implied rather than explained. Without clarity, international talent spends energy decoding expectations instead of contributing.
How can leaders prevent burnout while still stretching teams?
By providing clarity, recovery time, psychological safety and modelling healthy behaviour, leaders can create sustainable stretch instead of burnout.
