Translating stakeholder insights into strategic positioning for an internal service function.
The European Commission's corporate coaching function had been operating for 20 years, with 4 internal coaches and 60 external coaches serving 32,000+ employees. Despite delivering real value, the function faced a visibility problem: senior leadership couldn't see the connection between coaching and organisational outcomes.
The brief was to help "language out the unique value proposition of coaching" for decision-makers considering future investment in the function. But the underlying challenge was deeper: the service was valuable but invisible to the people who controlled its budget.
The bridging gap: How do you translate what a service actually delivers into language that resonates with senior decision-makers during a period of organisational change?
My role: From stakeholder insights to strategic influence
I worked between the coaching team, Directors-General, and senior HR leadership to understand the perception gaps and build a positioning framework that could secure buy-in.
Phase 1: Understanding the status quo
I conducted stakeholder interviews with Directors-General and department leads to understand how coaching was perceived at different levels. This revealed several critical gaps: lack of visibility, no quantitative proof of impact, and a perception that coaching was remedial rather than developmental.
Phase 2: Mapping challenges to messaging
I synthesised the research into a framework connecting functional challenges (visibility, proof, perception) to structural challenges (team dynamics, individual behaviours, coaching's place in the organisation). Each challenge mapped to a specific message and brand pillar.
Phase 3: Creating the narrative framework
I developed a complete strategic communications ecosystem including:
- Six brand pillars addressing specific stakeholder concerns
- Elevator pitch, positioning statement, brand promise, and mission statement
- A communications ecosystem model showing how advocacy flows from champions through platforms to individuals and teams
- Implementation roadmap for securing senior leadership commitment
The approach
- Stakeholder insight gathering: Understanding how Directors-General and managers actually talked about coaching, where they saw value, and where they had doubts.
- Gap analysis: Identifying the disconnect between what coaching delivered and how leadership perceived it.
- Strategic framing: Connecting coaching outcomes to priorities senior leadership already cared about like post-COVID transitions, HR modernisation, organisational resilience.
- Narrative development: Creating messaging that addressed specific objections while positioning coaching as strategic investment rather than cost centre.
The impact
The narrative framework delivered:
- Director-level championship secured for the coaching function
- Clear pathway to senior leadership budget commitment
- Coaching positioned within broader HR modernisation strategy
- Framework connecting the function to post-COVID organisational transitions
Key insight
Internal services often struggle with visibility because the people delivering value can’t communicate it to leadership. The solution wasn't necessarily better marketing but understanding what senior decision-makers needed to hear, then connecting existing impact to their priorities.
