Workplace Multiplier by Tola Akinsulire

June 9, 2026

Welcome to the Workplace Multiplier newsletter. Published Monday to Friday, equipping you to achieve your professional goals faster and without burnout or overwhelm.

Why Your Message Is Not Landing

Howdy ,

Most professionals are not bad communicators.

They are communicating on the wrong frequency.

And in today’s workplace, that matters more than we realise.

Because the modern workplace is no longer one culture, one generation, one communication style, or one definition of “professionalism.”

It is layered.

Different cultures.

Different regions.

Different generations.

Different assumptions about trust, hierarchy, speed, respect, and productivity.

I have seen this working across countries.

The same message can be received differently depending on who is listening.

Even within one country, communication nuances exist.

In Nigeria, for example, the way you communicate with a Yoruba colleague may need to differ from how you communicate with an Igbo colleague…not because one is right and the other is wrong, but because expectations around hierarchy, directness, and relationship can vary.

The same was true when I worked in Spain.

A Catalan colleague and a Basque colleague could interpret the same tone, pace, or level of detail differently.

Not better.

Not worse.

Just different.

And once you understand that, you stop assuming communication is only about what you said.

You start asking a better question: “How will this person receive what I am saying?”

Let me give you an example.

The modern workplace holds at least five generations…Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, Generation Z, and Generation Alpha…each with different assumptions about work, trust, and productivity.

That generational wiring shapes how people hear you, often before you finish your sentence.

One of my coaching clients was having a productivity conversation at work.

As we explored the situation, I suggested he consider asking for one or two work-from-home days.

He told me he had already raised it with his supervisor.

So I asked: “What did your supervisor say?”

The moment he described the response, I said: “Your supervisor is a Baby Boomer, right?”

He said yes.

And that mattered.

Many Baby Boomers came up in a work era where presence was closely tied to productivity.

You went to the office.

You sat at your desk.

Your manager could see you.

That visibility created a sense of control and accountability.

So when someone from a younger generation says, “I can work from home and still deliver,” they may be speaking from results.

But the supervisor may be listening from trust.

In his mind, the question is not only: “Can you do the work?”

The deeper question is: “Can I trust that work is happening if I cannot see you?”

My client was not dealing with a bad boss.

He was dealing with a generational lens he had not yet learned to speak to.

And he was arguing from his own point of view:

“I can work from home.”

“I will still deliver.”

“I do not need to be physically present to be productive.”

All true.

But none of it addressed the deeper concern in his boss’s mind.

The boss was not only asking: “Can you work from home?”

He was really asking: “Can I trust that work will still happen if I cannot see you?”

That is a different question.

So I told my client to repackage the request.

Not with more emotion.

Not with more defence.

But with more assurance.

First, define the weekly targets clearly. Before asking to work from home, show exactly what will be delivered that week.

The message should be clear: “My location is changing. The objective is not.”

Second, make availability visible. Reassure the supervisor that distance will not create disconnection.

Calls will be picked.

Messages will be answered.

Urgent issues will not disappear into silence.

Third, protect work-from-home days from personal errands. This part matters. You may work from home thirty times and deliver perfectly.

But if your boss discovers once that you used one of those days for personal errands, that one incident can become the evidence used to judge all the others.

“So this is what happens when he says he is working from home.”

Trust is built slowly. But it can be questioned quickly.

So I told him something counterintuitive: When you need to handle a personal matter, it may be better to do it openly on an office day.

Say:“I need to step out for two hours to handle something personal. I’ll be back by 2pm.”

Then return when you said you would.

That one move can build more credibility than thirty quiet work-from-home days.

Because the lesson is not really about remote work.

It is about communication. Effective communication is not only about saying what is true. It is about saying what lands.

The information may not change. But the audience does.

A senior leader may need assurance and continuity.

A younger colleague may need to feel heard, not managed.

A highly direct colleague may value precision.

A relationship-led colleague may need context before action.

Same message.

Different packaging.

Different outcome.

This is where many competent professionals lose influence.

They keep broadcasting on one frequency, then wonder why the signal is not getting through.

But the professionals who rise are not always the most talented.

They are often the ones who learn how to make their message receivable.

So here is the question for this week:

Who in your workplace are you failing to reach…not because your message is wrong, but because your delivery is not designed for them?

Study what they value.

Then repackage your message for how they receive, not just how you prefer to send.

That is not compromise.

That is mastery.

Keep winning at work and in life,

Tola Akinsulire

Your Strategic Workplace Mentor