Strategic Vision Communication

One skill separates great communicators from average ones: Perspective-taking. The ability to see things from someone else’s point of view. But most people do it wrong. Here’s how to do it right, especially when you’re leading or being led: When you’re the boss, persuading down: You’re trying to convince Maria on your team to do something different. She’s pushing back. Your instinct might be to assert your authority. But that’s a mistake. Here’s why… Research shows: The more powerful you feel, the worse your perspective-taking becomes. More power = less understanding. So if you want to persuade Maria, don’t lean into your title. Do the opposite: dial your power down, just briefly. Try this: Before the next conversation, remind yourself: Maria has power too. I need her buy-in. Maybe she sees something I don’t. Lower your feelings of power to raise your perspective. From that place, ask: → What does she see that I’m missing? → What might be in her way? → What’s a win-win outcome? That shift changes the entire dynamic. Instead of steamrolling, you’re collaborating. And that’s how you earn trust and results. Now flip it. You’re the employee persuading your boss. It’s a high-stakes moment. You’re nervous. So do you appeal to emotion? No. Drop the feelings. Focus on interests. Here’s the key question: “What’s in it for them?” Not how you feel. Not your big dream. → Will it save time? → Improve performance? → Help them hit their goals? Make it about their world, not yours. Why? Because every boss has a mental shortcut: → Does this employee make my life easier or harder? Be the person who brings clarity, ideas, and upside. Not complaints, drama, or friction. In summary: → Persuading down? Dial down your power to see clearer. → Persuading up? Focus on their interests, not your emotions. Perspective-taking is a superpower, if you learn how to use it. Now practice, practice, practice.

Most companies think they’re great at storytelling. That is, until they look at this… We recently created a framework called the Storytelling Maturity Scale. It rates your organization from 1 to 5 based on how well your teams can tell stories that grab attention and move people to action (from marketing and sales to internal communications). Some leaders are shocked to find out they’re a 2 out of 5… They think their teams are great at storytelling because they’ve gone through training, have an overarching brand narrative they reference, and know how important this skill is to develop. But since “storytelling” can be so hard to measure, leadership doesn’t really know how good their teams are or in what specific areas they need to improve. The Storytelling Maturity Scale changes that. In about 5 minutes, it scores your organization on one of five levels and shows you exactly what to fix: Level 1 - Non-existent: Storytelling isn’t on anyone’s radar. You’re marketing features instead of outcomes, your sales calls focus on closing rather than helping, and customers feel like numbers in a quota instead of humans with problems you can solve. Level 2 - Emerging: You know storytelling matters, but it’s inconsistent. You might have a brand narrative document somewhere, but marketing tells one version, sales tells another, and customers still can’t articulate how you actually help them. Level 3 - Integrated: Storytelling is becoming part of how your teams work. Marketing, sales, and leadership are telling a more consistent story. Product development evaluates features based on customer outcomes, and sales conversations focus on solving problems rather than pushing specs. Level 4 - Systemic: Storytelling is built into your processes and culture. You have a centralized story library, people across your organization actively hunt for customer stories they can use, and you’re tracking which narratives actually drive results. Level 5 - Transformative: Your narrative has become a competitive advantage. You’re shaping how your industry thinks, and competitors have to position against your story, not just your features. Most organizations land somewhere between a 2 and a 3. Which means there’s a lot of room to grow, and a lot of revenue is being left on the table. Take the free assessment to figure out where your organization stands when it comes to storytelling maturity (and get specific steps you can take to improve). Link in the comments. #BusinessStorytelling #BrandStrategy #SalesEnablement

How To Communicate At Executive Altitude. You're in an exec committee meeting. This is your biggest update in six months. A project you've lived and breathed - late nights, stakeholder pressure, real complexity. This meeting matters. The way you present this can change how you're seen. Now here's what usually happens to high performers at this moment. 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟭: 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱. You walk them through the work. The steps, the decisions, the fixes, the effort. You finish… and your exec sponsor nods: "Thanks." Next agenda item. No recognition. Not because the work wasn't impressive. Because they didn't hear what matters at their level. 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟮: 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗽. You keep it short: “The rollout is complete. Early feedback has been positive." Your executive pauses. "Positive how? What improved? What risk is still open?" And now you're scrambling - there's a lot of detail, and you don't know where to start. So you start everywhere. Context. Then steps. Then exceptions. Then blockers. Then workarounds. A minute in, your execs look lost. Because you're giving them information without a clear point. That's the real issue: You're not struggling to communicate. You're struggling to communicate at executive altitude. In exec rooms, you need to be able to do two things at once: • be clear enough that they trust the outcome • concise enough that they stay with you And the difference is simple: Too vague = they can't evaluate you Too detailed = they can't follow you Right altitude = they can see impact, trust your thinking, and ask for depth • - - Here are 5 pointers to make your next high-stakes update land well. 1. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 Ask yourself: "If they need to remember one detail, what should it be?" Say it first. 2. 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 "𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲" 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 Executives can't act on adjectives. They need numbers. • Customer satisfaction up from 3.8 to 4.4 • Avoiding €500K in rework costs • Profits up by 15% 3. 𝗔𝗱𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 "𝘀𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁?" Tie results to business levers they care about. "We can handle 1900 more transactions per week without adding headcount." 4. 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗵, 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗱𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗵 Give a clear path to go deeper without flooding. "Two key decisions got us here. I can walk you through them, or go straight to the next steps. Which do you prefer?" 5. 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸 Executives scan for what could go wrong and what you need. "One risk to flag is X, mitigating by Y. Decision we need today is Z." • - - This is how you win in senior rooms. You're not there to prove you worked hard. You're there to make it easy for leaders to trust your thinking, see your impact, and back you for bigger opportunities. Your work has value. This is how you make sure the room feels it.

There seems to be a growing trend lately. Attend a few public speaking courses. Learn storytelling structures. Speak on a few stages. Suddenly everyone becomes a “communications expert.” I say this carefully because there are many excellent speakers and trainers who genuinely transform lives. But leadership communication is not performance alone. Being articulate is not the same as influencing a board. Being entertaining is not the same as leading through crisis. Being charismatic is not the same as earning trust under pressure. Communication is not only what happens on stage. It is what happens: • when your team loses confidence • when a senior stakeholder challenges you • when conflict enters the room • when transformation stalls • when morale drops • when the room goes silent after your proposal That is communication too. Over the years, I have coached leaders through business transformations, boardroom tensions, crisis situations, cross-cultural conflicts, retrenchments, and high-stakes stakeholder environments. What I learnt is this: Executive presence is contextual. A leadership style that works in a startup may fail in a regulated environment. A polished presenter may still lose trust internally. An introverted leader may carry enormous influence without theatrics. Because communication is not a universal performance template. It is the alignment between: • who you are • how you think • how you lead • how others experience you • what your stakeholders need • and whether people trust you when pressure rises This is why I believe leaders should be thoughtful about who they learn communication and executive presence from. Not because someone is known or has a social media following. But because leadership communication is deeply tied to lived experience. Can the coach help you navigate politics, ambiguity, conflict, and executive pressure? Or are they only teaching stagecraft? Because leadership communication is not merely about becoming a better speaker. It is about becoming a leader people believe. What do you think leaders underestimate most about communication today? #Leadership #ExecutivePresence #Communication #Coach #Career #storytelling

Executive communication isn’t about talking louder and more often. It’s about listening with intention and speaking with clarity. After years inside Microsoft and Gartner, and now as a business owner helping execs intentionally craft their online voice, I’ve seen one pattern over and over: Executives that mindfully communicate create the biggest impact because when they speak, people listen and act.    Executive communication isn’t just what you say with words, it’s how you show up. Here’s what you can do to amp up your exec communication skills:   💜 Simplify your message   Clarity is a leadership skill. It’s the ability to distill complexity into a single, powerful idea. Before any communication, email, post, keynote, I ask: What do I want them to think, feel, and do? That one question turns a scattered message into a strategic move. The best execs don’t speak more, they say less with greater impact.    💜 Align your voice to your vision   Your personal brand is built one sentence at a time. Every LinkedIn post, all-hands meeting or hallway chat, are moments for you to show who you are. When you speak, are you reinforcing your values? Are you aligning your voice with your vision? Are you listening and asking questions? Exceptional leaders use communication to share ideas, yes, but more importantly, to transmit belief.     💜 Consistently Stay Visible   When you show up with intention, week in, week out, people don’t just see you, they trust you. The most influential execs don’t go quiet between product launches or quarterly reports. They maintain steady visibility and model strong communication through transparency, humility and direction.    In a world where 71% of employees disengage from traditional internal communication, according to Ving, your consistent presence is your competitive edge. When you show up with intention weekly, sharing your POV, insights, even behind-the-scenes moments, people begin to see you not just as a leader, but as a voice they trust.     Any other ways to enhance your exec communication skills? LMK in the comments!     #ExecutiveCommunication #Branding #LinkedIn #Leadership 

I almost tanked my executive career before it began. I had no idea how to speak with senior leaders and it almost cost me a promotion. I thought being thorough would make me look prepared. Instead, it positioned me as "not strategic". I built a 40-slide deck, packed with every detail. Outlining every step of the process. And then... I received feedback that broke my heart. "Too much in the weeds" "What's the bottom line?" "It's not the best idea" It hurt, but it taught me a tough lesson: Executive communication isn’t about showing how much you know. It’s about delivering what they need to hear, quickly and effectively. My 40 slide deck overwhelmed them with data instead of driving a clear point. But I don't give up quickly. I trained myself on 5 frameworks that changed everything. They taught me how to: Communicate at the right altitude Know what to say and what to avoid Get out of the weeds and be strategic And they worked like magic! I put together a full guide + examples on how to use these frameworks. It will save you a few years of trial and error. Just dig in. What’s one way you’ll adjust your communication this week to lead at the executive level?

Storytelling is not the secret to great content. Because a story without strategy is just noise. When we rebuilt a Fortune 500 executive's LinkedIn presence, we didn't just list his achievements. We mapped every piece of content to a specific outcome. Here's what strategy actually looks like in content: 1. Define the destination first. Know where you want your audience to go. ♻️ Every post should move them closer. 2. Align stories with business goals. Your narrative must serve a purpose. ♻️ Entertainment without direction wastes attention. 3. Build credibility through proof. Stories need evidence to convert. ♻️ Show results, not just experiences. 4. Create a clear throughline. Connect past decisions to future vision. ♻️ Your audience should see the pattern. 5. Position for trust, not just interest. Engagement is empty without conversion. ♻️ Make people believe you'll deliver again. 6. Use repetition strategically. Reinforce key messages across posts. ♻️ Consistency builds authority. 7. Map content to decision stages. Different posts for different readiness levels. ♻️ Awareness, consideration, decision - all need content. 8. Measure what matters. Track actions, not just reactions. ♻️ Likes don't pay bills. 9. Edit ruthlessly. Remove anything that doesn't serve the goal. ♻️ Clarity beats cleverness every time. 10. End with a clear next step. Tell people what to do after reading. ♻️ Strategy means guiding action. Good storytelling gets attention. Strategic storytelling gets results. The difference? One entertains. The other converts. P.S. Which of these do you struggle with most?

70% of change management efforts fail. Because most leaders go straight to execution. You treat change as a logistics problem. You build the roadmap, communicate the timeline, and track the milestones. And then you're blindsided when people push back. I've seen this happen in every room I've worked in,  From Capitol Hill to Fortune 150 boardrooms. The process is rarely the problem.  The people side is where change actually happens or falls apart. Here's the reframe that changes everything: Change is emotional before it is ever operational. When your team pushes back, they're not resisting the initiative. They're feeling something: 😨 Fear of losing ground they've worked hard for.  🤔 Uncertainty about where they fit in what comes next.  ❌ A lack of trust in whether leadership will follow through this time. When you understand that the emotional layer comes first, resistance stops being a problem to overcome. Instead, it becomes information to work with. That means before you roll out the roadmap, ask yourself what people are actually worried about. Before you send the announcement, ask: Do they trust this? And before you expect buy-in, check if you have given them a reason to believe in it. Here's the difference it makes in practice: ❌ Change management focuses on the process. ✅ Change leadership takes people on the journey. ❌ Change management treats resistance as a problem. ✅ Change leadership treats resistance as information. ❌ Change management makes one announcement. ✅ Change leadership communicates consistently. And when you are ready to have the conversation, your team needs four things from you, in this order: 1️⃣ What is changing and why. People cannot commit to something they do not understand. 2️⃣ What it means for them. Specific clarity creates confidence. Tell them exactly how this affects their role. This turns fear into focus. 3️⃣ What success looks like. If people cannot picture the destination, they will not start the journey. 4️⃣ What you need from them. Ask for their input before the plan is final. People commit to what they helped build. The leaders who get change right understand that people don't resist a revised plan. They resist feeling unseen in the middle of it. Address the emotion first, then lead the process. What's the hardest part of leading change right now? Let me know in the comments. Every day inside The Leadership Boardroom, I share daily leadership coaching on leading through moments like this: The tools senior leaders need to bring people with them, not just move them. Join us now: https://lnkd.in/g2WGzder ♻️ Repost for a leader in your network navigating change right now.  And follow me, Cicely Simpson, for daily leadership insights like this.

PR/Comms Industry: I listen to a lot of executive comms “thought leader” interviews (podcasts, webinars, LinkedIn posts, etc). And everyone keeps saying the same thing: “storytelling,” “authenticity,” “purpose,” “visibility,” etc. Here is how to actually coach executives right now, without the buzzwords: 1. Stop hiding behind messaging. Employees can smell spin instantly. If the news is bad, say the actual thing. Do not sugarcoat it. Do not strategically frame it. Just be clear. People do not need inspiration. They need honesty. Most executives want better messaging when what they really need is better decision-making. No communication can fix a strategy no one believes. 2. Use real examples, not corporate metaphors. If you want people to understand your strategy, point to a real customer, real employee, or real situation. One concrete example beats five talking points. 3. Internal and external are the same audience now. Slack screenshots, Teams chats, town halls. Everything gets shared. Your internal message has to match what you say outside. When those two versions diverge, trust disappears. 4. Do not outsource vulnerability to comms. Executives want to be seen as human, but they still speak like press releases. The job is not to make them sound warm. It is to make them sound like themselves. (If they are a-holes, we will address that in a separate post. In that case, you definitely do not want them sounding like themselves.) If they cannot be real for 30 seconds, the communication will never land. 5. Inclusive communication only works if leaders actually behave inclusively. You cannot run a DEI week and then shut down every opposing view in a meeting. People do not listen to what leaders say. They watch what they do. 6. The biggest blocker in executive comms is not AI. It is insecurity. Half the role is helping leaders stop reacting from fear: fear of backlash, fear of looking weak, fear of saying the wrong thing. Employees also do not trust leaders who communicate one way on a good day and a completely different way when something goes wrong. Emotional consistency builds credibility. 7. Executive comms is not storytelling. It is alignment. Getting the CEO, CFO, CHRO, legal, marketing, and IR to say the same thing consistently is the real job. If they are not aligned, no narrative will save it. None of this is fancy. It is basic, human, unpolished communication. And the executives who get coached this way, directly and honestly and without jargon, are the ones whose teams actually trust them.

Average founders think their product is the moat. The best founders know it isn't. The story is... Because your product can be copied.  Someone with deeper pockets can build the same thing, and probably better. What they can't copy: - Your story - Your insight - Your audience who already trust you... That's where I think the real moat is in 2026 and beyond. I've launched 3 companies and each one was easier than the last. Not necessarily because the products I built got better. In my opinion, it was because of the audience I built. I had people follow along with my story, and they got involved with each new business. When I started Verb, I had nothing. Every client call started cold. By Searchable, founders showed up already sold on what we do. They'd watched hours of my content before we ever spoke. Narrative and storytelling are assets that compound over time. These 6 frameworks are some of the ones I've leaned on to build them: 1️⃣ Hero's Journey A common adventure arc that mirrors every great story. Useful for: Pitch decks, brand messaging, and customer case studies. 2️⃣ The Golden Circle Lead with why you exist rather than what you sell. Useful for: Investor pitches, team alignment and brand positioning. 3️⃣ What, So What, Now What Turn boring facts into a reason to act. What = The fact. So What = Why it matters. Now What = What to do about it. Useful for: All-hands meetings, investor updates and board meetings. 4️⃣ Freytag's Pyramid Narrative arc that shows struggle, breakthrough, and resolution. Useful for: Any content that wants to emphasise emotion. 5️⃣ The Origin Story Framework Every founder has a story.  Structure it like this: Before = The problem you faced. Turning Point = The moment everything changed. After = The mission you're now on. Useful for: Intros, investor pitches, and rallying your team. 6️⃣ Pixar's Story Framework Mirrors classic narrative arcs used in every Pixar film. Useful for: Any narrative that needs structure and flow. Ultimately, storytelling is how you turn attention into trust you can monetise. Leverage it for content, marketing, and beyond. It's worth it. ♻️ Repost to help founders in your network scale with stories. Follow me, Chris Donnelly, for more tips on building your business. -- I share useful frameworks like these in more depth in my newsletter, Step by Step. 📌 Join 250k+ founders and operators reading weekly here: https://lnkd.in/eUTCQTWb