If you work in internal communications, you probably know how to craft the perfect message, choose the right channel and meet tight deadlines. These are essential skills. But here’s the reality, many comms professionals learn the hard way: knowing how to communicate isn’t enough if you don’t understand the business.
One of the biggest shifts in my career came when I stopped seeing myself solely as a communications expert and started thinking like a business leader. That mindset transformation has changed everything – from the quality of my work to the conversations I’m invited into.
In this post, I want to share how developing a business mindset as a comms professional has helped me become more strategic, more influential and more impactful.
Why comms needs a business mindset
Yes, compelling content and clear messaging matter. But to influence at a senior level, you have to go beyond the comms bubble. Strategic communication requires you to understand the organisation’s goals, pain points and priorities.
If you want to be taken seriously at the leadership table, you need to show that you understand what keeps business leaders up at night – and how your work helps address it.
Too often, we get caught up in delivering outputs and forget to ask ourselves: what’s the real purpose behind this? What’s the business outcome we’re trying to support?
Here’s how I changed my approach:
1. Start with a business goal, not a comms goal
Before creating any internal communications plan or campaign, I now ask:
“What’s the business impact we want to achieve with this?”
If I can’t answer that clearly, I pause. Because without a business objective, comms becomes a box-ticking exercise.
Whether it’s boosting customer retention, improving operational efficiency or supporting a change programme, communications must tie directly into a measurable business goal. That’s when it moves from noise to value.
2. Get out from behind the desk
One of the most powerful ways to develop business acumen in communications is to spend time with other teams.
I’ve gained huge insight from sitting in on operations meetings and attending frontline team huddles. These conversations helped me understand the challenges on the ground and the context behind what we’re being asked to communicate.
This kind of curiosity builds credibility and trust. It also gives your messaging a lot more punch because it reflects reality, not assumptions.
3. Read beyond the comms echo chamber
If you want to develop a leadership mindset as a comms professional, start by learning what leaders are reading and talking about.
I’m a huge fan of Harvard Business Review and regularly dip into leadership and strategy content from places like the Institute of Directors (IoD). It helps me stay in tune with business trends, challenges and the language leaders use.
It’s easy to stay within the safe confines of the comms community – but to elevate your strategic communication skills, you need a broader view. Understanding the business environment helps you anticipate issues, shape conversations and align messaging with strategy.
From tactical delivery to strategic influence
Once you develop this business-first mindset, everything changes:
- Your internal comms strategies become sharper
- You speak the language of senior stakeholders
- You get brought into conversations earlier
- You can clearly articulate the value of your work – not just its volume
This isn’t about ditching creativity or tone of voice. It’s about using those skills more strategically to solve real business problems.
And let’s be honest – it feels a lot more fulfilling when you know your work is making a real impact.
Where to start: Simple shifts you can make now
If you’re ready to build your business mindset as a communicator, here are a few simple steps you can take today:
- Ask better questions. Start every project by asking what the business is trying to achieve.
- Shadow other teams. Sit in on meetings or frontline briefings to gain insight into their world.
- Change your reading list. Add business, strategy or leadership publications to your regular reading.
- Learn the numbers. Understand key metrics that matter to your business and how they’re tracked.
- Speak the language of impact. Frame your work in terms of outcomes, not just outputs.
Final thought
Comms has so much potential to drive change, shape culture and support business performance – but only if we stop thinking of ourselves as just content creators or messengers.
The real impact comes when we think like business leaders who are experts in communication. So if you want to grow your influence and contribute more strategically, start by stepping into that leadership mindset.
You don’t need a new title to think like a leader. You just need to get curious, stay connected and keep the business goal at the heart of everything you do.
P.S. If you enjoyed this post, check out our 5 effective ways to handle difficult conversations.
