GUIDES
How to Help Your Leadership Team Become Better Communicators
About this Guide
Great communicators don’t necessarily make great leaders, but brilliant leaders are always superb communicators. That business leaders today must prioritize communication as a critical skillset is beyond debate. We know it from our own worklife experiences and from having witnessed the critical role CEO communication played during the pandemic, in addition to numerous research papers.
Last year, the global consulting firm McKinsey, published the results of extensive interviews with top CEOs around the world: CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest—and according to co-author Carolyn Dewar, communication skill is the thread that runs through everything that the best of the best excels at.
Leaders need to be able to clearly communicate the ambition, vision, and direction of the company; be able to align the organization; mobilize teams through leaders; engage the board; and connect with stakeholders, especially employees—the people who ultimately will deliver on company goals.
None of this can be accomplished without a prioritized focus on communication. Indeed, recent years have seen the emergence of increased employee expectations of highly visible and engaged leadership communication.
And in these times of rapid and unrelenting change, the need for an organization’s top executives to be visible and to communicate clearly and constantly at every stage of the change process is more critical than ever before—if they want people to change their behaviors and buy into the program.
This guide explores how IC professionals can not only help their CEOs and leadership teams become better communicators, but in doing so, become key trusted advisors for their engagement and relationship with employees.
Author
Tim Vaughan
Editorial Director, Poppulo
Related content
Internal comms is heading into 2026 with more uncertainty about its role than at any point in recent memory. AI is changing the work at speed. Trust is slipping. Managers are stretched thin. Employees are tuning out. And the expectations placed on IC keep widening into work that falls well beyond its traditional scope—often without the structure or support to match. The familiar models aren’t holding, and the function is being pulled into a new order that still isn’t fully defined. 2026 will ask big questions of IC: what it stands for, where it fits, and how it leads through a year marked by uncertainty and shifting expectations. To understand what this means in practice, we’re bringing together four leaders who are working at the sharp end of these changes: Stephanie Cornell, Head of People Communications & Marketing, WPP Annabelle Gordon, Director of Employee Communications, Super Regine Nelson, Director of Internal Communications, Couchbase Stacie Barrett, Former Director of Internal Communications, Domino’s Moderated by Joss Mathieson of Change Oasis, this 60-minute session, including time for your questions, will get into the real pressures facing IC in 2026 and how teams can work through them. Expect to Explore: The shifting identity of internal comms and what it means to play a deeper role in shaping the employee experience Where AI is genuinely changing the work of internal comms, and the risks that emerge when speed increases but understanding doesn’t How IC can work alongside leaders and other functions when old command-and-control habits no longer hold up How IC can rebuild trust and strengthen resilience by creating communication that feels human, transparent, and genuinely meaningful in a year defined by ambiguity The emotional and practical load on IC practitioners, and how to stay steady when you’re communicating through the same uncertainty as everyone else Don’t miss this—save your spot now! January 27, 11AM ET / 4PM GMT
Over the past two decades, campus communication has shifted from posters and email blasts to a complex web of comms channels that are accessible to students, faculty, and visitors throughout their days. The modern university is both physical and digital, and the speed of communication must meet the needs of a digitally-native generation. In this environment, digital signage has moved from a nice-to-have to a strategic medium—visible, immediate, and flexible—one that connects a dispersed campus. This whitepaper explores how institutions are using digital signage to communicate smarter and faster, and how to build a program that is easy to operate, simple to scale, and resilient in the moments that matter most. Drawing on Poppulo’s expertise in digital signage for college campuses, we’ll share how leading universities are centralizing digital signage management, empowering multiple departments, and using data and design to make every message count. Keep reading to learn how top universities are leveraging digital signage to create more connected, informed, and vibrant campus communities, setting new standards for communication in higher education.
Dive a little deeper into AI for digital signage and learn what the future holds for these two technologies. Across the enterprise, AI is no longer a distant vision—it’s quickly becoming a practical tool reshaping how organizations work, connect, and communicate. From automating workflows to personalizing customer experiences, AI is changing the way information flows, both inside and outside of businesses. For digital signage network owners, this shift presents both an opportunity and a challenge. How do we move from simply broadcasting content to delivering communication that’s adaptive, intelligent, and responsive in real time? How do we take advantage of AI in ways that make networks easier to manage, more engaging for audiences, and more valuable to the business? This shift is something most businesses are currently navigating, but they don’t have to figure it all out on their own. Poppulo is here to help demystify the technology and provide insight into how AI will shape the future of digital signage.