May 30, 2026 · 33 min · 11 segments
Communicators long for “a seat at the table.” In this episode of “On the Same Page,” the internal communications podcast, Shel and Steve share their perspectives on this age-old aspiration and discuss…
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Shel HoltzHost
Steve CrescenzoHost
I, I want the internal communications community to stop asking for the seat at the freaking table.
Yeah, you know what they sound like? They sound like the older kids at Thanksgiving.
You know, the 13-year-old who says, "Why do I have to sit at the kids' table? I wanna sit at the grown-up table." You know what? There is no table.
There's no one in the C-suite sitting around this polished mahogany slab thinking, "You know what would really make this strategic discussion complete? Having the person who runs the intranet here." The table has become a metaphor for a participation trophy, and chasing it-
It's doing work that's so useful that the leaders come find you because they can't make the decision without getting your input first.
That's more important than a seat in a chair that, let's face it, isn't all that comfortable, and that can be taken away as quickly as it was given to you.
You know, this, this table, um, it's, uh, it- they treat it like it's the, the Knight of the Round Tables in Camelot, King Arthur.
Whiny little needy people, like we sit here in the basement and we s- write our newsletters, and why can't we get up there and sit at the big table? Uh, we don't need a table.
You know what we need? We need influence, we need access, and we need respect.
You do it by speaking truth to power, by letting leadership know that you, you can provide counsel, that you know what? You can, you can tell them, "Your baby's ugly.
Why are you doing a nine-minute video when nobody's watching a nine-minute video?" That's how you get respect and in- access and influence.
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I, I want the internal communications community to stop asking for the seat at the freaking table.
Yeah, you know what they sound like? They sound like the older kids at Thanksgiving.
You know, the 13-year-old who says, "Why do I have to sit at the kids' table? I wanna sit at the grown-up table." You know what? There is no table.
There's no one in the C-suite sitting around this polished mahogany slab thinking, "You know what would really make this strategic discussion complete? Having the person who runs the intranet here." The table has become a metaphor for a participation trophy, and chasing it-
It's doing work that's so useful that the leaders come find you because they can't make the decision without getting your input first.
That's more important than a seat in a chair that, let's face it, isn't all that comfortable, and that can be taken away as quickly as it was given to you.
You know, this, this table, um, it's, uh, it- they treat it like it's the, the Knight of the Round Tables in Camelot, King Arthur.
Whiny little needy people, like we sit here in the basement and we s- write our newsletters, and why can't we get up there and sit at the big table? Uh, we don't need a table.
You know what we need? We need influence, we need access, and we need respect.
You do it by speaking truth to power, by letting leadership know that you, you can provide counsel, that you know what? You can, you can tell them, "Your baby's ugly.
Why are you doing a nine-minute video when nobody's watching a nine-minute video?" That's how you get respect and in- access and influence.