The Seat at the Table Is Earned, Not Assigned
When executive search firm Hedley May set out to study what makes a top leadership team truly work, they interviewed 20 CEOs and 12 functional leaders across all sectors. The resulting white paper, Top Team Dynamic, was not designed as a manifesto for any single function.
But for communications and corporate affairs professionals, the findings offer something rare: a window into exactly how CEOs decide who gets their ear. The report identifies three behaviors that separate those who do from those who don't, and for marketing and communications leaders, the picture is both encouraging and clarifying.
Harry Friend, the firm's corporate affairs and sustainability partner, spoke with Financial Narrative News about what the research means specifically for communications leaders.
"All functional leaders aspire to be trusted advisers to the chief executive," Friend said. "But only a few of them really make it."
High performing teams rarely, if ever, happen by accident.
The Door Is Ajar, But Not for Everyone
Hedley May's research found CEOs consistently turn first to two functional leaders: the CFO and the CHRO. The CFO benefits from spending countless hours with the CEO, often in high-pressure investor settings. The CHRO benefits from the talent lens, which is fundamental to delivering business performance.
High-performing teams,
Communications and corporate affairs directors are not yet in that inner circle by default, and the research does not suggest that will change anytime soon. But Friend is clear that the door is not closed.
"The best communications directors are the ones who really speak truth to power," he said. "They tread a fine line between loyalty to the chief executive and loyalty to the company. You're employed by the business, not by the CEO to wave their flag."
CEOs genuinely value that capacity for independence, but it is not, in itself, a route into the inner circle. The research is clear that the CFO and CHRO reach trusted adviser status, aided by their remit; for the corporate affairs director, the same destination requires a more deliberate journey.
Battle-Scarred and Built for It
"The corporate affairs director is probably the most battle-scarred of any of the functional leaders..."
The report highlights resilience as a non-negotiable for any functional leader seeking CEO trust. Friend’s view, shaped by his work in the corporate affairs market rather than a specific finding of the research, is that the nature of the role builds a particular kind of durability.
"By nature of the job — the issues management, the reputational risk, the constant fires — the corporate affairs director is probably the most battle-scarred of any of the functional leaders," he said. "That resilience piece is something they have in spades."
It's a function where no two days are alike, where the news cycle doesn't wait, and where leaders routinely navigate through crises that other departments hand off and walk away from. That sustained pressure, Friend suggests, builds a specific kind of durability that CEOs notice when they are looking for someone to lean on.
Getting Out of the Swim Lane
Where the corporate affairs director often falls short, according to Friend and the CEOs Hedley May interviewed, is in demonstrating the broader commercial judgment that distinguishes a trusted adviser from a functional expert.
"The nature of the comms director, the broad brief they've got, it makes it quite difficult for them to step outside the swim lane," Friend said. "The very best functional leaders are thinking not just about their role, but in more commercial lines."
He points to the general counsel as a reference point. Lawyers have become much more comfortable as commercial operators, as have the best CHROs. Finance chiefs have long held that commercial credibility. Communications leaders, Friend argues, need to close the gap.
"If you're not in the room when those conversations happen, it's very difficult to use the skills you actually have," he said.
The Fixer Advantage
One area where Friend sees genuine untapped potential is what might be called the “fixer” dimension of the role - the capacity to navigate problems that sit outside any single function’s remit. He highlights those corporate affairs directors who have unlocked complex problems that didn't fit neatly into legal, finance, or HR remits: trade negotiations, market entry obstacles, relationships with government ministries.
These are situations where a broad stakeholder network and the ability to navigate diplomatically, rather than procedurally, create real value. The research identifies this “bandwidth” to take on high-stakes projects outside one’s own function as a critical step in earning closer CEO access, for any functional leader. For the corporate affairs director, being alert to those moments and being visibly ready for them is central to opening the door to another level of CEO influence.
"There are moments when it doesn't naturally fall into the lap of any one function," Friend said. "The corporate affairs director, by the nature of how they build relationships with a broad stakeholder group, can navigate around those problems in ways others can't."
Takeaways For Communications Leaders
The Hedley May report offers a three-question framework for any functional leader working to become a trusted adviser:
- Loyalty is important, but am I trusted to deliver?
- Am I ready to walk through the door?
- Am I able to tell the CEO what they need to hear?
For communications professionals, the last question may be the most important. Friend noted that CEOs are acutely aware of who is telling them the truth and who is just being loyal.
The communications leader who can offer an honest, independent read of how the company or its leadership is perceived, without softening it to protect the relationship, is, in his view, more valuable than one who simply executes on message.
The research does not promise that getting this right will put the corporate affairs director in the CEO’s inner circle. But it does suggest that those who do not get it right will never be in contention. "You can't be a constant doomsayer," Friend acknowledged, "but bringing honest perspective, paired with a solution; that's what makes someone indispensable."
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