What Communication Leaders Wish Their CEOs Better Understood
July 1, 2026
Communication leaders excel at engaging a range of different audiences.
But there’s one audience that presents a unique, and singular, challenge: The CEOs of their organizations.
We know that because we asked. Turn Two recently conducted a flash survey of communication leaders with the question, “What do you most wish leadership better understood about the communications role in deepening audience understanding and connections?”
Many of their answers read more like confessions than simple data points.
The news isn’t all bad. Several respondents said their CEOs have a firm understanding of the considerable value of communications in amplifying vision and driving strategic change.
Yet some clear themes emerged that could help get chief executives and communication leads on the same page. Here are three that stood out.
1. Communications is strategy partner, not an on-demand service desk
Leaders — and, in turn, the broader organization — too often view communications as a function that simply puts the final shine on initiatives and projects. That mindset overlooks the deep thinking and creative strengths that communicators can bring to translate strategy into campaigns, content, and creativity that move people to action.
Many respondents said the top executives in their organizations don’t take enough time to see what's behind the curtain — "all the things we do behind the scenes so the final products are great" — to gain a better understanding of how last-minute or impulsive requests can crowd out much higher-value work.
As one respondent put it, this constant scramble "makes our marketing more reactive instead of proactive." Another said it plainly: marketing "is not done in a silo. It takes strategy across the organization to build understanding and meaningful connections."
2. Your organization does not have one big audience
The second theme was almost unanimous: Trying to speak to everyone with every message often means saying little to anyone.
Communications leaders want the time and resources to get to know their audiences better so they can strategically tailor and target communications and content in ways that clearly resonate with specific audiences.
And they want leaders to understand that watering down language in the hope of engaging every audience with the same message delivered through one channel limits opportunities to cut through the noise.
As one respondent noted, the pressure to "speak to everyone" and dilute the message "is often what leadership in non-comms roles are asking us to do. We can't be all things to all people."
3. The world keeps changing — so encourage experimentation
With the ways that people access and consume information rapidly evolving, communications leaders appreciate CEOs who foster a culture that allows for testing new ideas, pivoting when results lag, and even, at times, failing.
As one wrote, "'We tried that five years ago' isn't a good reason" not to try something today. Another captured the mindset perfectly: "Be ready to pivot, but don't give up too easily. Know when to scrap a lost cause, but be willing to stay the course if progress is slow."
The fast-increasing capabilities of AI were also woven through the innovation-theme feedback, with some respondents noting the potential for technology to help create efficiencies and strategic advantages.
Yet others cautioned against an "immediate and unquestioning leap to incorporating AI" without weighing how donors actually feel about it or its impact on employee morale. As one put it: AI "is not a substitute for strong comms and strong writing."
Consolidating these themes delivers a clear message to CEOs committed to leveraging communications to achieve their organizations’ missions: Give us a seat at the strategy table, trust us to develop and deliver meaningful messages to key audiences, and back us when we try something new.
CEOs who embrace that thinking will find true strategic partners in their communications departments — and a much more streamlined path to success.
