If Your ELT or Board Shrugs at Your Communication Strategy, This is Why.

Ever walked out of an ELT or Board meeting after presenting your Communications strategy and thought, Well… that landed with a quiet thud?

I think you know exactly what I mean. That polite corporate pat on the head…

“Thanks, that’s great. No questions from us.”

I’ve experienced it too, and that moment stayed with me because as a Communications leader, I KNEW exactly what was happening.

I had hit the target, but missed the point entirely.

What sounded like praise for my beautifully presented strategy was actually a sign that I hadn’t connected to what truly mattered to senior leaders, or to the future they envisioned for the organisation.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth even experienced Heads and Directors of Comms don’t like to admit:

If your Board shrugs at your strategy, you haven’t understood what success really looks like, or why.

And that will harm your reputation and your impact.

Why your work isn’t landing at the level you expect

This usually comes down to two things:

1. A lack of alignment on what Communications success looks like for your exec team.
2. The way you articulate and communicate in that high-stakes meeting.

Lack of Alignment With the Executive Agenda

As Comms leaders, we may define success as:

• An organization that’s well-informed
• Strong engagement
• Improved sentiment and trust
• Consistent messaging
• Positive reputation

These are solid measures, but when you’re in front of the Board or ELT, you’re not in your world anymore. You’re in theirs.

Your CEO, COO, CFO or CHRO may be thinking about:

• Reduced organizational risk
• Growth
• Performance and outcomes
• Competitive differentiation
• Faster, more confident decisions
• Stability during change
• Productivity
• Talent retention

So the real question is: how do you align your Communications goals and definition of “success” with the Executive agenda?

Because without alignment, your work becomes invisible. Not because it lacks value, but because it doesn’t map to the outcomes stakeholders care about.

Communicating The Value of Your Work

Even when you are aligned, you still have to communicate that alignment in a way that lands with senior leaders.

You’re not just explaining your strategy. You’re showing how it reduces risk, supports decisions, enables performance, and shapes the organization’s future. You’re translating Communications into organizational outcomes.

And the irony? We often coach our leaders to do exactly this, yet overlook our own leadership communication.

You need to be able to:

• Answer the “so what?” with clarity
• Take and share a confident point of view
• Make a clear recommendation
• Communicate like a strategic leader, not a functional expert

Because when your communication style doesn’t match the level of the room, even a brilliant strategy won’t resonate.

The Practical Shifts to Transform Your Impact

Here are practical, immediately usable steps to align your work with what senior stakeholders value and to communicate your impact effectively.

1. Have the alignment conversation

Ask your top stakeholders:

• “When you think about great Communications, what does success look like to you?”
• “What risks or pressures should Comms help you manage right now?”
• “What would need to happen in six months for you to say Comms made a meaningful difference?”

2. Translate your work into outcomes they care about

Shift from outputs to contribution:

• What decision did your insight enable?
• What risk did your work reduce or prevent?
• Which leader performed better because of your support?
• How did your work help the business move faster or more confidently?
• How does engagement correlate with turnover or productivity?

3. Create co-ownership before the Board meeting

Share an early outline and ask:

• “What would you challenge?”
• “What feels missing?”

Stakeholders advocate for what they help shape.

4. Use their language, not Communications language

If your CEO talks about stability, risk or performance, those words should appear in your strategy. It’s not pandering, it’s translation to their language.

5. Measure curiosity and advocacy

You know you’ve achieved alignment when leaders:

• Ask more questions
• Bring you in earlier
• Seek your counsel beyond Comms
• Challenge your assumptions
• Advocate for your approach when you’re not in the room

Curiosity is an early indicator of influence. So track it.

When your work is aligned, translated and communicated at the altitude your senior team operates at, everything changes. Your role shifts from informing to influencing. And those polite “no questions from us” moments are replaced with curiosity, challenge and real advocacy.

Most importantly, your work finally lands at the level it deserves.

Louise Thompson is a leadership and communications coach and former Director of Corporate Communications. She specialises in helping senior Comms leaders move from overlooked operators to indispensable strategic advisers. Connect with Louise on LinkedIn or explore her leadership insights on TikTok (@leadwithlouise).

Website: https://www.louisethompsoncoaching.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisecthompson/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@leadwithlouise