The pathway
How you actually get there, here
How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.
- 1
From Lead Change Communications Strategist (L4)
2-4 years at L4Skills to master
- Moving from owning complex programmes to managing a team and a portfolio. This means developing strong people management skills (coaching, performance, hiring), budget oversight, and a broader strategic perspective beyond individual projects.
You're ready to move on when
- Successfully led multiple large-scale transformation communication programmes with significant impact.
- Demonstrated informal leadership or mentorship of junior team members.
- Consistently sought out opportunities to advise senior stakeholders and influence strategic decisions.
- Proactively identified and solved systemic communication challenges, not just project-specific ones.
- 2
From Senior Internal Communications Manager (in a large organisation)
3-5 years in a similar senior management roleSkills to master
- Adapting your general internal comms management experience to the specific, high-stakes demands of transformation. This means deepening your knowledge of change management frameworks, resistance planning, and connecting comms to specific business adoption metrics.
You're ready to move on when
- Managed a team of internal communications professionals.
- Accountable for a significant internal communications function or business unit.
- Experience with crisis communications and executive messaging.
- A strong track record of driving employee engagement through communication.
- 3
From Senior Change Management Consultant
3-5 years at a senior consultant levelSkills to master
- Transitioning from an advisory role to an in-house leadership position with direct team management. This means shifting from recommendations to direct accountability for execution and team development, and navigating internal politics as an employee rather than an external advisor.
You're ready to move on when
- Led the communications workstream on multiple large-scale change projects for clients.
- Strong understanding of change management methodologies (e.g., Prosci).
- Experience presenting to and influencing senior client stakeholders.
- A desire to build and lead an internal team, rather than just advise.