3 ways public affairs teams can get ahead of the curve and keep their CEO happy

When it comes to influencing public policy one of the major goals that an organisation′s senior leadership wants to achieve is the certainty their organisation is ahead of the curve.?

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Naturally, most of those concerns centre on mitigating any future negative impact on the commercial bottom line or the organisation′s reputation.

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Responsibility for ensuring the organisation is ahead of the curve lies squarely with public affairs teams who have to create the opportunities to do this.

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Sometimes it is possible to get ahead of that curve.?

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Sometimes it simply isn′t due to shock surprises and random events.?

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But, if public affairs leaders want to reinforce the value of their team, it′s essential to be able to demonstrate to their senior leadership how the team has at least tried to make this a reality.

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However, what does it mean to proactively create new positive opportunities to influence??

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And, if you are leading a public affairs team, how can you attempt to do this?

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Three thoughts from me. It would be great to hear your thoughts.

First, you need to proactively decide to shape the policy/political agenda as much as possible.?

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Don′t wait for events to happen.?

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This means an active decision to integrate this ambition into your strategic and tactical planning. Otherwise, it will remain a ′nice to do′ task.?

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Or something you assume you′ve been doing as part of your day-to-day work.?

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A lot of day-to-day public affairs involves firefighting or reacting to issues though. Influencing the tail of the curve, and not being ahead of it.

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You need specific goals and indicators of success that make sense to what your organisation wants to achieve and take account of political realities and what is or isn′t possible.

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And someone in the team (ideally you as the public affairs leader) needs to hold the pen for regularly reviewing actions and the team′s activity to make sure it is heading in that direction.?

Second, to create?many hooks to shape the future you need to consistently gather evidence from your organisation and be kept in the loop about new ideas, services and products.

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Often there are nuggets of gold buried in the organisation that public affairs teams don′t hear about until it′s too?late. And colleagues may not appreciate the value these can have for political and stakeholder engagement. But these nuggets could provide valuable insights for policymakers, stimulate their thinking, contribute to stakeholder debate, or simply raise your profile in a positive way.?

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All of this helps to create touchpoints for engagement and improve your value in the eyes of decision-makers.?

Converting that political capital into establishing stronger relationships with decision-makers is made a little bit easier, and strong relationships can lead to great intelligence to help you have foresight of what may be coming down the track.?

Third,?big ideas and good ideas drive and shape politics,?eventually leading to policy and regulatory change.?So, build new coalitions – but not just with the usual stakeholder suspects though.?

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Be creative and seek out unusual suspects with common interests that if aligned could help to influence emerging thinking, raise your visibility and even create a positive splash.?

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When stakeholders who might appear to have different interests (or perhaps have underappreciated how aligned their interests could be) come together with a powerful message or compelling campaign or persuasive research, it′s another chance to shape the direction of political and policy debate.

Whenever you are ready here are 3 ways I can help:

If you want some help developing into a more effective public affairs leader get in contact with me if you′re interested in:

• Working with me through a one-to-one leadership coaching programme that will help you develop.

• My ′How to be a Public Affairs Leader′?training that will equip you with the practical tools to make an impact and influence others. After the training, you′ll have a way to evolve your leadership in a focused way. Get in touch to discuss the benefits that those you have taken part have enjoyed so far, including this recent client who said:

“Already, only a few weeks on from the session, I feel I am performing at a higher level, thinking more strategically, and delivering better value for my clients.”

• Or if you need support with a current public affairs campaign or a simply a sounding board, let’s talk.

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About me

I’m a public affairs consultant and also a coach focusing on leadership, career and personal development.?I've worked for over 20 years executing political strategy and my expertise includes advising chief executives and senior directors on political engagement, designing and executing business-critical political communications and campaigns. As a coach I’ve helped many clients achieve breakthroughs in finding work they love and make breakthroughs in their personal life.