Communication is the lifeblood of any successful organization, yet it’s also one of the most common causes of failure in teams. A subtle misunderstanding or missed message can snowball into significant issues, resulting in misalignment, conflict, and stagnation. The Harris & Grammarly State of Business Communication report reveals a staggering $1.2 trillion is lost annually due to communication breakdowns in the corporate world. This isn’t just a statistic, it’s a real problem that’s impacting organizations of all sizes and industries. But for Maria Garaitonandia, this cost is not only preventable but also a challenge she’s dedicated her career to solving.
A bilingual leadership communication strategist, keynote speaker, and the author of the Amazon bestselling book Untangling Communication: How Leaders Can Strengthen Communication, Resolve Conflict, and Build High-Performing Teams, Maria Garaitonandia is on a mission to change the way leaders communicate. With over two decades of experience helping multinational companies, her practical, human-centered tools have transformed how global teams collaborate and resolve conflict.
Untangling Communication: A Mission to Save Billions
Every day, teams talk, message, update, and meet — and everyone assumes they’re on the same page. Most of the time, they’re not. Companies don’t lose money because people aren’t working; they lose money because people are working from different understandings of the same issue. And because these disconnects happen gradually and silently, organizations often don’t notice the damage until it’s already embedded in their culture and performance.
Maria Garaitonandia has spent her career helping leaders spot — and correct — these hidden breakdowns long before they become costly. Maria’s story began with a unique personal journey. As a “Third Culture Kid,” she was raised in multiple countries and cultures, which equipped her with a deep understanding of how cultural nuances affect communication. Her background as an expatriate, constantly adapting to different environments, gave her a unique perspective that many communication experts lack: the ability to read the room and build trust across cultures.
Through her experience in the corporate world and her work with clients like Ericsson, AstraZeneca, and Holcim, Maria noticed that communication breakdowns were more than just an inconvenience, they were costly, with profound consequences for company culture and performance. That realization was the driving force behind the creation of Global Bridges Training, a company designed to give leaders practical, people-centered tools that could untangle communication challenges and build high-performing teams.
“When you’ve worked across cultures as much as I have, you see just how often people talk past one another without realizing it.,” Maria says. “A small adjustment in how we express ourselves can change the entire tone of a team..”
Why Miscommunication Costs So Much
The staggering $1.2 trillion annual loss due to poor communication isn’t just a figure from a study, it’s a result of real-world challenges faced by organizations worldwide. Maria’s experience has shown that the underlying issue isn’t just a lack of clarity in messaging, but deeper, structural problems that arise when communication isn’t prioritized. Issues like:
- Cultural misunderstandings: Teams across different regions struggle with how to interpret messages, causing friction.
- Silos and misalignment: Poor communication fosters disjointed work efforts and a lack of alignment, preventing teams from working together effectively.
- Conflict avoidance: Leaders avoid addressing conflict directly, letting minor issues escalate into bigger problems.
- Generational differences: Different generations in the workforce communicate in vastly different ways, leading to missed signals and misunderstandings.
The problem is compounded by the fact that many organizations don’t realize how much they’re losing until it’s too late. As Maria explains, “If companies understood how much miscommunication really costs them, they would treat clarity like a strategic asset.”
The Frameworks that Deliver Results
Maria’s success in helping organizations resolve these communication challenges lies in her CLEAR, FRAME, and CARE frameworks. These tools are designed to be straightforward yet powerful, offering leaders the ability to immediately address communication breakdowns and improve team collaboration. They’re practical tools shaped by real conversations with leaders, not by hypothetical models.
- CLEAR keeps communication clean and aligned from the start. It helps leaders give the context people need so expectations and next steps are understood the first time.
- FRAME gives managers a structure for having difficult, corrective conversations without damaging trust — focusing on facts, impact, and next steps instead of blame..
- CARE is Maria’s model for meaningful recognition, helping leaders move beyond generic “good job” comments to specific praise that links people’s actions to real results.
These frameworks are especially valuable for global teams, where cross-cultural communication can make or break success. They offer leaders practical tools to bridge differences, reduce conflict, and create alignment across functions and regions.
What Makes Maria’s Approach Different
What sets Maria apart from other leadership consultants is her combination of cultural adaptability, real-world corporate training expertise, and a deeply human-centered approach. Her experience working with multinational organizations has given her insights into the most common pain points faced by global leaders. Maria’s frameworks address these challenges directly, offering solutions that can be applied immediately to improve team dynamics and organizational performance.
Moreover, Maria’s background as a “Third Culture Kid,” who learned early on how to navigate cultural differences, gives her a unique ability to spot communication challenges that others might miss. She knows that leadership is not just about conveying information, but about adapting to the diverse needs and communication styles of individuals from different backgrounds.
“I’ve always believed that communication goes way beyond just talking,” Maria says. “It’s understanding the dynamics at play and adjusting your approach to the moment for deeper understanding and trust.”
The Impact of Maria’s Work: Real Results
Maria’s work has had a profound impact on the organizations she’s partnered with. Leaders at companies like Santander Bank, PMI, and Cosentino have experienced firsthand the transformative effect of better communication. Teams that were once plagued by misunderstandings, conflict, and misalignment have seen improvements in collaboration, reduced stress, and faster decision-making.
Her ability to bring clarity to complex communication challenges has earned her recognition, including a Certificate of Excellence from Ericsson for her contributions to their Learn to Lead program, and an Achievement Award from the National Speakers Association Central Florida Academy.
Take Action: Invest in Communication Before It Costs You
Leaders don’t need another reminder that communication matters — they feel the consequences every day in delayed projects, confusion, and teams that aren’t rowing in the same direction. What Maria Garaitonandia brings is a set of tools that help leaders deal with those issues before they turn into bigger problems. Her work shows that when people know how to talk to each other clearly and respectfully, teams move faster and decisions stick.
If you’re ready to stop the bleeding and unlock your team’s potential, visit Global Bridges Training today. Maria’s frameworks offer the tools you need to untangle communication and start seeing results immediately.
Explore more about Maria’s work and how her frameworks can help your organization improve communication and team performance: Learn More.
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