The Leadership Skill That Turns Strategy Into Results

In March 2020, as the hospitality industry collapsed almost overnight, Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson appeared on screen in a short video message to employees. There were no slides and no script masquerading as empathy. Instead, a visibly ill Sorenson — then undergoing cancer treatment — spoke plainly about the crisis and the steps the company had to take to survive, including shuttering hotels and furloughing thousands of workers.

“COVID-19 is like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” he said. “For a company that is 92 years old, that’s borne witness to the Great Depression, World War II, and many other economic and global crises, that’s saying something. But here are the facts.”

The message lasted just six minutes. It acknowledged fear without amplifying it, explained decisions without jargon, and made one thing unmistakably clear: leadership means showing up, even when the news is brutal.

“I have never had a more difficult moment than this one,” he said.

Moments like these, when words carry more weight than strategy decks or financial models, are exactly what Professors June West and Steve Soltis study, teach and practice as communicators.

Why Leadership Communication Isn’t a “Soft Skill”

West and Soltis teach the core first-year class “Leadership Communication” in the Full-Time and Part-Time MBA programs, along with several electives.

“Leadership communication used to be dismissed as a soft skill — even a soft class,” Soltis says on the latest episode of Office Hours, a Darden faculty spotlight series.

“That's changed dramatically. More and more of our students are finding that the most valuable tool that they leave Darden with is a great understanding of not only how to better communicate, but also the strategy behind communication.”

Soltis is an expert in strategic communication, having led executive communication at The Coca-Cola Company for more than a decade. He has worked with some of the world’s biggest brands through Arvo Advisory, a boutique advisory firm he co-founded.

Soltis came to the University of Virginia Darden School of Business in 2017 as a co-founder of the Darden Leadership Communication Council (DLCC), with West, the Marjorie R. Sands Associate Professor of Business Administration.

The DLCC includes more than 100 leaders from business, media, education, government and civil society sectors.

Where Communication Meets Strategy

West, an authority in organizational communication, leadership, strategy and change management. joined the Darden faculty in 1997.

“I believe we're the only business school that has ‘Leadership Communication’ as a required course — and it's been that way since the founding of the School,” she says. “It is extraordinary that the founding faculty members felt communication was so important that it was right up there with finance and accounting.”

Her mission is to ensure Darden students become exceptional communicators. While they excel in technical fields such as finance and strategy, West emphasizes they must also understand that words matter.

Soltis notes the “Leadership Communication” course offers a unique “blending of self-help professional tools” designed to refine a student's ability to communicate effectively in a corporate setting.

While the curriculum covers essential tactical skills, such as presentation, writing, active listening, data visualization and slide development, the “other half” of the program is rooted in high-level corporate strategy.

By analyzing case studies, students learn how top executives leverage “the power of communication to enhance reputations, drive valuation and buttress brands,” he adds.

The goal isn't necessarily to mint future chief communication officers, although that is happening more frequently, but to equip future general managers and CEOs with a strategic framework.

“Since so many Darden students end up as general managers, or manage P&Ls, or become CEOs, if they can walk away with an appreciation and understanding of the importance of communication as it reflects on corporate strategy, business development, people development and reputation, for us, that is the Holy Grail, a home run,” Soltis says.

West and Soltis view their roles as “self-help, coaching staff.” They split the class in half so they can provide one-on-one instruction to everyone.

“It also helps students who are new to the case method, who may not be used to speaking in class,” says West. “The smaller classroom environment in the communication class really helps people find their voice and feel confident enough to participate in the case method discussion.”

West emphasizes that while writing and presentation skills are at the heart of the course, the key component is tying these skills to communicating strategy. “I always say, when we were looking at a strategic plan, you have to have a communication component for it, or it's not going to work,” she adds.

Teaching Communication in the Age of Disruption

Artificial intelligence is changing how we communicate at a time when companies also face pressing challenges from economic, social and political upheaval. Keeping up is essential.

“We follow the news,” says West. “Communication is changing every day. We have to keep up with what's going on, particularly when it comes to bringing the corporate perspective into the classroom.”

To keep the curriculum current, West and Soltis rely on the DLCC, now in its 10th year. The group includes senior communication leaders from companies and organizations such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Home Depot, Hilton, Ford, PNC and UPS. (The DLCC’s next meeting takes place 9-10 April 2026.)

These industry leaders help identify gaps in the curriculum, leading to electives like “Communicating during times of disruption and transformation.” West is teaching that class this semester using a new case she authored: “Robin Halpern: Managing Investor Relations at Coca-Cola.” The case will also be taught in the core class, as investor relations is all about corporate communication.

(Halpern, the real-life head of investor relations at the global beverage giant, was recently named as incoming CEO Henrique Braun’s chief of staff.)

Soltis pioneered another elective, “Business Writing for Influence and Impact,” to meet the practical needs of MBAs. The course spans everything from email etiquette to brand journalism and social media activations. Soltis also brings in guest speakers, from White House speechwriters to executives from Blue Origin, McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Pepsico.

“Most CEOs will tell you that critical thinking and writing are one and the same,” Soltis says. “You can't do good critical thinking unless you're a good writer. You can't be a good writer unless you have really good critical thinking skills. So that's what we try to do with the class.”

The Core Skills Behind Effective Communication

Soltis says effective leadership communication often hinges on fundamentals that are easy to dismiss, and easy to miss. The first, he explains, is “really understanding your audience and starting all of your communication with that focus in mind,” even before outlining a message or building a formal strategy.

That means asking basic but consequential questions: “Who are you talking to?” and what outcome defines success.

Just as critical, Soltis adds, is listening. “People don’t realize that listening is as important as speaking,” he says.

West adds that successful communicators must understand “what the audience’s current mindset is and what the desired mindset is — and how do you move folks from a current mindset to where you want them to be thinking.”

That shift requires turning the lens inward as well. In the classroom, she emphasizes self-awareness; whether leaders “understand how they’re coming across to folks” as a core skill for both students and professionals.

Together, these fundamentals — understanding the audience, listening and self-awareness — form the backbone of effective leadership communication.

Professor June West is the author of the case, “Robin Halpern: Managing Investor Relations at Coca-Cola,” published in November 2025 by Darden Business Publishing.

To hear the full conversation with West and Soltis, and explore past episodes, visit “Office Hours,” Presented by Darden Ideas to Action.