Internal comms isn’t about making everyone happy (focus on what is achievable instead)
Internal comms attracts people who care. We want stakeholders to feel heard, audiences to feel included and messages to be well received. It is part of the job and, if we are honest, largely part of our personality too. But it's important not to confuse this sentiment with the unrealistic goal of making everyone happy.
My secondary school headmistress used to repeat a quote that has stayed with me ever since:
“You can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot please all of the people all of the time.” And I think internal comms might be one of the clearest modern examples of that truth.
The people pleasing trap looks different depending on where you sit
Having worked alongside in-house teams and also from the agency side, I have realised the pressure is there on both sides, just in different shapes.
Inside organisations, the challenge is often the sheer number of voices involved. Senior leaders, HR, operational teams, regional priorities, culture initiatives. Everyone has a valid perspective and a genuine reason for wanting their message reflected. The intention is usually positive, the result can be a piece of communication that tries to carry everything at once and ends up saying very little clearly.
From the agency side, the instinct to keep the client happy can sometimes work against us. Every edit feels reasonable, every version feels necessary, and suddenly the message loses its edge, or its meaning or even its clarity. The role of a good partner is not to absorb everything - it’s to bring fresh perspective, keep decisions anchored to the objective and know when to say: enough!
The moral of the story is that when we aim for universal approval, comms can become cautious and diluted.
Stakeholders do not need perfection, they need direction
One of the biggest shifts in mindset is recognising that alignment does not mean agreement from everyone.
In house teams often feel pressure to gather every view before moving forward. Agencies sometimes feel they must reflect every piece of feedback to prove they are listening. But these approaches stall progress and strong internal comms is about helping organisations move forward, clearly, not making sure every stakeholder sees their exact wording reflected back.
A useful question to return to is: What outcome are we trying to achieve and what does the audience need most right now? Not everyone will love the answer to this, but that is part of doing the work well.
Your audience is not expecting you to be everything
Employees rarely expect internal comms to solve every tension within an organisation. What they value more is consistency, honesty and a sense that someone is making clear decisions.
When messaging tries to satisfy every viewpoint equally, audiences feel it and I think the message just feels very generic, cautious, clipped? Keep your focus on the purpose of the message, because trust grows from honesty, yes, but also direction, over perfection. Sometimes the most respectful thing we can do for an audience is to prioritise, simplify and say less.
From making everyone happy to making something work
A more achievable approach might sound like this:
Be clear on the intent of the communication.
Be honest about who it is really for.
Set boundaries around what feedback will shape the message.
Accept that good enough, delivered with confidence, is often better than perfect but late.
It’s not about stopping caring, it’s about knowing where to focus the care that you have, and I think once you’ve nailed that, you’re on the right track.
The quiet confidence of letting go
Whether you sit inside an organisation balancing competing voices, or outside it supporting clients doing just that, the pressure to please everyone is familiar. Internal comms is a discipline built on clarity, trust and momentum (what it’s not is a popularity contest). You will not please everyone, none of us can.
But we can create communication that works, that moves people forward, reflects real priorities and feels grounded in purpose rather than consensus. And in the long run, that is far more valuable than trying to make everyone happy.
If this feels familiar, you are not alone. Every internal comms team and every organisation finds itself balancing voices, expectations and priorities.
If you are navigating similar challenges, or simply want a sounding board from people who understand both the in house reality and the agency side of the table, we are always happy to have a conversation. Get in touch to arrange a call.
