Leading Comms Through Change: AI, Restructure and Upheaval

Hosted by: Louise Thompson, leadership coach and former NHS Director of Communications.

A one day online executive forum for senior communication leaders on leading change through AI, restructure and upheaval.

Change Is Now Your Permanent Operating Environment

Change used to be a project. Something with a start, a middle and an end. You communicated it, you got through it, things settled. Perhaps this happened once every few years.

That era is over.

AI is rewriting how organisations work. Restructures, mergers and layoffs have become a rolling reality rather than a once-a-decade event. New leadership, shifting expectations, constant reorganisation. And as a communications leader, you are the person expected to hold the narrative, steady the room, and take everyone with you, while often being affected by the same change you’re being asked to lead. (And in a time when trust and dis-engagement are becoming new organisational and cultural characteristics.)

It’s a lot. And it requires real leadership skills from you, beyond your functional expertise.

This is the new paradigm for communications leadership. 

The forum will examine:

• The new operating environment for comms leaders and the urgency this presents us with in terms of understanding how to lead change effectively and credibly.
• The difference between communicating change and leading it, and why most comms leaders default to the first, even when they have the skills required to step up as organisational leaders.
• The patterns that quietly undermine your authority and confidence under pressure, and how to interrupt them.
• How to communicate in genuine ambiguity, when you don’t have the answers and can’t pretend otherwise.
• The strategic approach and framework that underpins effective organisational change communications.
• The leadership skills you need to develop and master to be effective and credible in this new operating environment.
• How to protect your own capacity, so you’re not the leader who holds everyone else together and quietly burns out doing it.

Who is this forum for?

This forum is for communication leaders who:

• Are leading communication through periods of uncertainty and organisational change
• Are supporting leaders through transformation, restructuring or AI adoption
• Want to strengthen their influence and authority as organisational leaders
• Want to benchmark approaches and exchange insight with peers

What to expect

The one-day forum includes:

• Expert-led discussion
• Executive peer conversation
• Case studies and practical frameworks
• A trusted, candid room run on Chatham House principles
• Networking with senior communication leaders
• Interactive sessions focused on real organisational challenges

What you will leave with

• Greater authority leading through uncertainty
• Practical frameworks for organisational change communication
• A clearer approach to communicating when the answers are incomplete
• Peer insight from senior communication leaders facing the same pressures
• Clear actions you can apply immediately within your organisation

Format

One day online executive forum

Date

Wednesday 11th November, 2026

Time

12pm: 6pm GMT

Investment

€950 per person

Limited places

Each group is limited to 12 participants

Book your place

To reserve your place in this forum, email: orla.clancy@strategic.global

About Louise Thompson

Louise is an executive coach and former Director of Communications, who has led significant change for organisations as diverse as the National Health Service in England, and disruptive tech start-ups in Silicon Valley. Louise is now an executive coach, speaker and facilitator, working with senior communications leaders and their teams globally.

Find out more at: http://www.louisethompsoncoaching.com

Written by: orlaclancy