Research Shows That the Best Leaders Repeat Themselves. Here’s Why You Should Too

As a leader, a big part of your job is to communicate key messages effectively. This way, your team is clear and focused on the right things. Often, this means repeating yourself. Yet many of my coaching clients balk at this premise of sharing the same message again, fearing they might sound redundant, annoying, condescending, or even lazy. 

This is the paradox of leadership communication. The habit leaders sometimes fear—repeating the same message—is often the secret weapon of influence, alignment, and credibility. Consider the impact of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s relentless focus on developing a growth mindset. There’s also ex-PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi’s consistent emphasis on “performance with purpose.” 

Here’s how I encourage you to think about it: Save your creativity and novelty for your internal processes and your product offerings. Communicate your message consistently and, yes, repeat yourself. When you repeat your message, you’re not a nagging boss, but rather a resonant leader.   

The benefits of repeating yourself 

There are three key benefits of repeating yourself: attention, believability, and speed. Attention might be the most obvious benefit. The more your audience is exposed to a message, the more likely they are to internalize, recognize, and recall that message. Marketers often reference the AIDA framework, which involves funneling customers through a sequence from attention to interest to desire to action, based on repeated exposure to a message. 

You can think of your own communication with your internal team in the same way. Given our fragmented attention spans and messaging overload, repetition can be the secret to garnering awareness and attention. 

The second benefit of repeating yourself as a leader is believability, also known as the illusory truth effect. The phenomenon is exactly what it sounds like. In a 2021 research study published in the journal Cognitive Research, participants rated statements they had seen multiple times as more truthful than new statements. 

The third benefit of repeating yourself is speed, as in speed to execution. Research from Harvard Business School’s Tsedal Neeley and her colleagues shows how what they call redundant communication can boost teams’ speed and confidence in execution. Put more simply, repeating yourself can reduce the time from communication to action. 

Certainly, overexposure of a repeated message can go too far. However, the overexposure threshold is likely much higher than many of us would guess, based on these three real benefits of repetition. Repeated messages inspire attention, believability, and speed. Now the question is, how to execute this powerful, consistent messaging. 

Your playbook on powerful, consistent messaging 

Your first challenge is to identify the main message that you want to reinforce or repeat. Did you recently introduce a new vision, mission, strategic priority, or organizational values? Consider GM CEO Mary Barra’s frequent reference to her company’s vision: “zero crashes, zero emissions, zero congestion.” Do you have a mantra or rally cry? Consider Jeff Bezos’s “Every day is day one.” 

Consistently repeating this new message will clarify and focus your team’s attention and efforts. The type of message and how you say it will depend on your industry, organizational structure, team dynamics, and personal leadership style. 

How to strategically and optimally repeat your message 

1. Label it. Be direct when referencing your message and label it. Use simple phrases like, “This bears repeating because it’s very important …” or “This is what we all need to commit to memory and focus on over the next fiscal year.” Call out the significance of the message and clarify why you’re repeating it. 

2. Share the message in formal and informal contexts. You may introduce the message in a formal speech, and then reference it in meetings and informal conversations. Bring it up when you’re facilitating a Q&A! 

3. Go multimedia. Beyond your verbal communication, reinforce your message across multimedia. This might include written material such as your organization’s website, corporate reports, and perhaps in your email signature. Be creative. You might even create a consistent visual depiction of the message on a presentation slide, one-pager, or infographic. 

4. Leverage the network effect. While some leaders assume they should unilaterally “own” the message, encouraging others to share your message can rapidly amplify your message. Encourage and celebrate others who reference and repeat your message 

5. Breathe new life into your message. Preserve freshness while retaining consistency by explicitly highlighting how the message is relevant over time with new data, stories, or challenges. 

When you intentionally repeat yourself, you’re not a nagging boss. Rather, you’re a resonant leader. As a communication coach, I remind leaders: If you’re getting tired of saying it, that’s a sign you’re doing something right.