After my recent article on the Strategic Leadership Summit in Brussels, I received a number of thoughtful messages. One message in particular caught my attention because it reflected something I see time and time again in our profession.
We’re still asking the wrong question.
“How well do organisations understand the role we play?”
It sounds reasonable and even important. But it’s also where we do our selves a disservice. Because it assumes the responsibility sits with them. It doesn’t.
If we want to be taken seriously as a profession, we need to let go of the idea that leaders should instinctively understand what communication does. They won’t because they’ve never been shown in a consistent, tangible way.
And that’s on us.
Communication has never been embedded into organisations in the same way as finance, legal or operations. Those functions have decades of clearly defined models, governance and expectations behind them. We do too, but they’re applied far more consistently in those disciplines. Entry into those professions is structured and often regulated. Ours isn’t.
That lack of consistency shows up in how the role is understood and how it’s practiced.
So, when we say, “they don’t understand what we do,” what we’re really saying is, we haven’t made it clear enough.
That might sound uncomfortable but it’s also where the opportunity sits. The moment we stop waiting to be understood and start showing up with clarity, consistency and intent, everything changes.
This becomes even more obvious in environments where communication moves between functions often sitting under Corporate Affairs one year and People & Culture the next. Every time that happens, the narrative changes, along with the expectations and perceived value of what we do.
Over time, that creates confusion. Not just for leaders but for us as well.
So, instead of expecting organisations to keep up, we need to anchor the role ourselves. And that starts from day one.
If you’re stepping into a communication role, here’s where to begin
I’m often asked what someone should focus on when they step into a new communication role, especially at a senior level. The instinct is usually to start delivering – quick wins, visible activity, something to prove value.
I understand the pressure and I’ve been there. But if you start with activity before you’ve set the foundations, you’re building on sand.
Here’s what actually sets you up for success.
1. Get clear on your shared purpose
Before anything else, you need to define why communication exists in your organisation.
Not in vague terms, and not in language that sounds good in a presentation, but in a way that connects directly to business outcomes. If you can’t articulate your purpose in a way that a leader understands immediately, you’re already on the back foot.
This is where many teams fall into the trap of describing what they do rather than why it matters.
- “We manage channels.”
- “We create content.”
- “We manage channels.”
None of that tells a leader why they should care.
Your shared purpose needs to answer a different question – how does communication contribute to organisational performance?
For example:
-
We exist to support effective decision-making across the organisation
(What changes because you exist?) -
By providing clear, timely and relevant communication
(What do you consistently do to enable this outcome?) -
For leaders and teams making operational and strategic decisions
(Who relies on you to create this impact?)
Here’s another example:
We exist to reduce risk and protect organisational reputation. By ensuring clear, consistent and accurate communication. For leaders and teams managing sensitive or high-impact issues.
Until that’s clear, everything else becomes reactive.
2. Define your value proposition
Once your purpose is clear, your value proposition brings it to life.
What should leaders experience when they work with you?
What can they rely on you for?
What do you do differently from other functions?
Too often, communication teams assume their value is obvious, but it isn’t. Leaders don’t see the thinking behind your work; they see your output. And if the output looks tactical, they’ll assume the function is tactical.
Your value proposition needs to close that gap.
For example: “When you engage communication early, you get clarity on the business need, a defined communication approach aligned to outcomes, and measurable evidence of what changed.”
Or more simply: “We don’t just deliver communication. We diagnose the problem, define what needs to change in people and measure whether it happened.”
It should be explicit, consistent and reinforced through everything you do.
3. Establish governance early
This is where many teams hesitate, especially in new roles. There’s often a worry that governance will slow things down. In practice, it’s the opposite.
Without it, you end up negotiating your role in every interaction. Every request becomes a debate and every decision becomes personal. Governance removes that. It clarifies roles, responsibilities, decision-making processes and ways of working. It sets expectations upfront, so you’re not constantly defending your position.
In practice, this might look like:
- a clear intake process for all communication requests
- defined criteria for what gets prioritised
- agreed roles between communication, other business functions and leadership
- a simple approval and escalation pathway
It also signals maturity. When communication operates with strong governance, it’s much harder to dismiss it as a support function.
If you’re not sure where to start, you’re not alone. I’m actually working on a set of practical toolkits to help teams put this in place properly.
4. Connect your work to business priorities and show what changed
This sounds obvious but it’s where many teams get it wrong. We talk about alignment but then deliver work that sits next to the business rather than at the centre of it. If you want leaders to see value, you need to work in their context. That means understanding their priorities, their pressures and how success is measured.
It also means being selective.
Not every request deserves your time, and not every piece of work contributes to the outcomes that matter.
For example, a stakeholder might say: “We need a campaign to improve customer satisfaction.”
Instead of jumping straight to tactics, step back. What’s the business need? You might uncover rising call volumes, customer confusion around processes or increasing complaints. Now the focus is clear — reduce pressure on the call centre and improve customer satisfaction.
Only then should you step into communication — clarifying processes, increasing use of self-service, reducing avoidable enquiries.
That’s the difference. You’re no longer delivering activity. You’re solving a business problem.
And this is where many teams fall short. We’re comfortable talking about what we did. Less so about what changed.
But that’s what leaders care about. Did anything improve? Did behaviour change? Did this make a difference? If you can’t answer those questions, people will draw their own conclusions. When you can, the conversation changes because you move from explaining your work to demonstrating its impact.
And that’s where your credibility starts to build.
So where does this leave the original question?
“How well do organisations understand the role we play?”
The honest answer is, they understand it based on what they experience.
If communication shows up as reactive, they’ll assume it’s reactive. If it shows up as fragmented, they’ll assume it lacks direction. And if it shows up as strategic, grounded in business priorities and delivered with consistency, they’ll recognise it for what it is.
There’s a level of accountability here that we can’t avoid. It’s easier to say, “they don’t get it.” It’s harder to ask, “have we made it clear enough?” But that’s the question that moves us forward. Because once we take ownership of how the role is defined, everything else starts to fall into place.
We stop waiting, and we start leading.
And over time, the conversation changes. That’s how professions build credibility.
