CEOs Say the Correct Things but Do Not Connect

In 2016, I had a conversation with an employee—let’s call her Mariam—who had just attended a town hall where the CEO delivered an important message:

“We need to change our ways of working because we are losing market share.”

When I asked Mariam if she remembered what the CEO had said earlier that day, she replied, “Something about market share, but truth be told, I don’t get paid enough to worry about market share.”

That moment was an epiphany for me. Many CEOs say the right things, but their communication fails to connect. If their message doesn’t resonate with employees, it simply falls on deaf ears.

Saying, “We are losing market share,” is factually correct, but the problem is that Mariam doesn’t care. The CEO cares because it’s her responsibility to protect market share, but she assumes that Mariam cares about the same things. Just because someone is an employee doesn’t guarantee they care about organizational results. When we pay salaries, we don’t buy the right to decide what employees should care about.

And that’s where the disconnect happens.

The Missing Link: Connection in Communication 

After this experience, I dedicated myself to understanding why corporate messages fail to inspire action. Could storytelling—a practice I deeply believe in—resolve this issue?

Initially, I thought the solution was simple: framing messages around “What’s in it for me?” WIIFM would solve the problem. But I soon realized that merely referencing employee benefits wasn’t enough. Many organizations say, “You’ll get a bonus,” but that’s rarely effective. Employees hesitate to rely on group efforts for rewards, fearing that others won’t contribute enough, which weakens motivation.

Another common corporate approach is reinforcing the company’s purpose. Take this purpose statement, for example: “To empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”

It sounds meaningful, but does it emotionally connect with employees? Not really. When I shared it with some friends, one of them quipped, “Great, I’d like to start by making myself more productive!”

I am reminded of a wonderful line from Seth Godin’s TED Talk How to Get Your Ideas to Spread: “The world revolves around me. Me, me, me, me. My favorite person—me. I don’t want to get email from anybody; I want to get ‘memail.'”

While the purpose statement emphasizes empowerment, it doesn’t explicitly provide employees with an opportunity to be seen, heard, and valued. As Dr. Brené Brown has taught us, connection is the exchange of energy when people feel seen, heard, and valued.

Employees want to feel like they personally make a difference, and a customer-focused statement alone doesn’t fulfill that need.

In essence, the problem with WIIFM is that it depends on factors employees can’t control. The problem with corporate purpose statements is that they often focus too much on customers rather than employees.

This disconnect in communication leads to disengagement. So, what is the solution?

Identity: The Key to Meaningful Connection 

Steve Denning, in his book The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling, argues that purpose alone doesn’t drive action—purpose must be made worthwhile. I would take it even further: it’s not just about purpose; it’s about identity formed through that purpose.

James Clear, in Atomic Habits, states that identity drives behavior more than goals do. This insight applies directly to corporate change initiatives. If leaders want employees to embrace change, they must help them see a new identity in that change—one that aligns with their sense of self and values.

Atul Gawande, in his book Being Mortal, writes: “Your competence gives you a secure sense of identity. For a clinician, therefore, nothing is more threatening to who you think you are than a patient with a problem you cannot solve.”

What’s interesting here is that the focus for an individual is less about making a difference and more about the sense that they can make a difference. And that is where identity stems from.

When we are clear about what our identity is, living our purpose becomes a natural extension of it.

So, the key question for any CEO is:

What identity do you want to build for your employees, and how will you attach that to the purpose of the organization? 

We all want to matter, and a clear identity triggers the actions that allow us to live our purpose. Let’s understand the connection between identity and purpose through Adam Grant’s famous Purpose Experiment.

Adam Grant’s Purpose Experiment: The Connection Between Identity and Purpose 

In 2008, Wharton professor Adam Grant conducted an experiment on purpose at a university call center. He divided employees into three groups:

• Group 1 heard stories about personal benefits of the job.
• Group 2 heard stories about their impact on scholarship recipients.
• Group 3 received no intervention.

A month later, Groups 1 and 3 showed no change, but Group 2 more than doubled their donations (9 to 23) and nearly tripled their total funds raised ($1,288 to $3,130).

Grant’s research demonstrates how easy it is to get caught up in doing and forget why we’re doing something. But simply reminding people what kind of people they are becoming—or, in other words, clarifying their identities—helps them live their purpose.

A purpose becomes worthwhile when employees see themselves living an identity they resonate with.

Bridging the Corporate Connection Gap with Stories 

In the corporate world, change initiatives are often framed in dry, transactional terms:

• “We have to change our system because we are losing market share.”
• “We must transform our factory into a smart factory to increase productivity.”

To employees, this translates to: “This change is hard. I have to learn new things. Management doesn’t care how this affects me.”

This type of messaging makes change feel like a corporate necessity rather than a personal opportunity. Employees disengage because they see change as something imposed on them, rather than something they can take pride in.

The real issue? Leaders miss the opportunity to tell a compelling narrative—to truly connect.

How Leaders Can Frame Change to Connect with Stories 

Instead of saying:

“We must turn our factory into a smart factory to increase productivity.”

Say:

“This is an opportunity for us to become Supervisors of Robots. Over the past two years, demand for our product has quadrupled, but our workforce has stayed the same. I’ve seen many of our employees working overtime and sacrificing weekends. By adopting technology, we’ll free up time to learn new skills and become Supervisors of Robots.”

By making change personally relevant to employees and aligning it with their identity, leaders transform corporate messaging from cold directives into compelling stories.

As James Clear writes in Atomic Habits: “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.”

And that is how true connection is built.

Every CEO must move beyond transactional messaging and craft narratives that foster identity and connection. When employees see themselves in the company’s story, they become active participants in its success. By framing change in a way that aligns with their identity.  In the end, connection is not about saying correct things—it’s about making people feel like they belong to something bigger than themselves.

Written by Anjali Sharma.
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