The CEO whisperer: How comms leaders become the most trusted voice in the room

Mary Olson-Menzel is the founder and CEO of MVP Executive Development and co-founder of Spark Insight Coaching. Michelle Powers is a fractional chief of staff.

There’s a moment in every communications leader’s career when the role shifts. You shift from shaping messages to shaping decisions. You’re in the room earlier. The questions are bigger. The stakes are higher. And the CEO is now asking, “What should we do?”

Today’s most effective communications leaders are not operating on the sidelines of strategy; they are embedded within it as strategic partners. They are trusted advisors to CEOs, the C-suite and boards, helping to plan and strategize amidst complexity, anticipate reaction and ensure that every decision aligns with the organization’s voice, values and vision.

In other words, they become the CEO whisperer.

Start with your business acumen

To influence at the highest levels, you have to think like a business leader first and a communicator second. CEOs are making decisions rooted in long-term growth, risk, performance and value. When you understand the business drivers behind those decisions (i.e., the financials, the competitive landscape and the operational realities), you have the information you need to elevate your perspective.

This means aligning your comms strategy directly to business priorities. It means asking yourself:

• What does success look like for the organization this quarter, this year, long term?
• Where are the biggest risks to reputation, trust or execution?
• How can communications accelerate these outcomes?

When you speak the language of the business, your voice carries further.

Be in the room to co-create the story

One of the clearest signals that you’ve stepped into this role is timing. Are you being brought in after decisions are finalized, or are you part of the conversation while they are still being shaped? The most influential communications leaders proactively create pathways for earlier involvement. They build trust with their CEO by consistently offering insight, not just execution. They anticipate what’s coming. They connect dots others may miss. And they bring a perspective that considers not only what is true, but how it will be heard.

Master the art of listening to lead

Many professionals (especially in the comms space) equate influence with speaking. In reality, influence begins with intentional, focused, curious listening — the kind that allows you to fully understand how your CEO is thinking, what pressures they are navigating and what outcomes they are truly trying to drive. When you listen this way, your questions become more powerful.

Instead of jumping in with solutions, you might ask:

• How are you weighing the trade-offs in this decision?
• What does success look like from your perspective?
• What concerns you most about how this could land internally or externally?

These questions create alignment, help clarify thinking and position you as a partner in the process, not just a translator at the end.

Speak with clarity, candor and courage

Being a CEO whisperer means that your value is in offering perspective that may not yet be visible or understood. This requires a balance of confidence and care. You have to be willing to say:

• Here’s how this may be interpreted by your audience
• Here’s where we could face unintended consequences
• Here’s an alternative approach that may better align with our goals

When delivered with respect, this kind of input is invaluable. CEOs need advisors who can cut through noise, surface blind spots and offer grounded, thoughtful guidance. Ultimately, your role is to tell the truth constructively, strategically and with the organization’s best interest at heart.

Create consistency and follow-through

Influence is built over time through consistency. As a comms leader, one of your greatest strengths is your ability to maintain alignment across multiple initiatives, messages and audiences. You help ensure that what is said aligns with what is done and that priorities remain visible.

This is especially critical when working with CEOs and boards, where multiple stakeholders, timelines and pressures can pull focus in all different directions. Your role is designed to bring clarity, reinforce priorities and help the organization stay grounded.

Actionable ways to step into the CEO whisperer role

If you’re ready to elevate your impact, here are a few ways to begin:

• Deepen your business fluency: spend time understanding financials, operations and strategic priorities so you can connect communications directly to outcomes
• Proactively engage early: offer perspective ahead of key decisions and position yourself as a thought partner
• Ask the big questions: use your curiosity to share insight, align thinking and strengthen your relationship with your CEO
• Offer candid feedback: share your perspective with clarity and confidence, even when it’s uncomfortable
• Create consistency and follow-through: reinforce priorities and ensure consistency between strategy, messaging and execution

Your influence is built in every interaction

Becoming the CEO whisperer is ultimately about trust. Trust is built in the moments when you listen deeply, speak honestly and help your CEO navigate what to both say and do.

As you become more strategic, you become embedded as a trusted advisor. When you fully step into that role, you support the CEO and lead the organization forward.