Importance of Strategic Communications in the C-Suite

Seeking communications counsel used to be an afterthought, but today more and more organizations are elevating the role of the communications leader and giving them a seat at the decision-making table - or at least the ear of the CEO. Why? Because we are living in a multi-stakeholder world, which requires not only a deeper understanding of the full spectrum of stakeholder issues, needs, and concerns, but also a well-developed strategy on how to effectively communicate with each group. This is the wheelhouse of the Chief Communications Officer (CCO).?

Gone are the days where the communications team were just the press release and speech writers. With the rise of digital, they are also now the gatekeepers of valuable data and insights that can help the rest of the organization. They have the knowledge the C-suite needs to make better informed decisions, and they know how to effectively disseminate it.??

The Role of Communications Today

Now more than ever, effective communication must be rooted in strategy that considers:

• A brand’s story, values, purpose
• Stakeholder wants, needs, and feelings
• Organizational goals

The CCO aids in tying all these things together into an overarching, intentional approach, enabling the organization to reach the right audience on the right channels with the right messaging so it can build trust and gain a competitive advantage.?

The CEO Whisperer - a CCO is a Valued Strategic Partner

In a recent PR Patter podcast, I tapped into the knowledge and insight of my friend and colleague Elliot Mizrachi. A member of the leadership team of Page Society, the world’s premier professional association for chief communication officers, and the host of The New CCO podcast, Elliot has a wealth of information on the topic.

He advised that in successful organizations, more often than not, you’ll find a really tight connection between the CEO and CCO, then shared how Jack Welch, the former CEO and Chairman of General Electric, said the relationship he had with his CCO was perhaps the most important in the C-suite.

The CCO is the pace setter for protecting talent, and fulfilling obligations to shareholders and customers. According to Elliot, there are four specific ways the CCO can help facilitate organizational transformation:

Corporate Brand - The brand today is about every touchpoint, not just marketing. With this holistic view, more and more CCO’s have formal responsibility for the corporate brand.?

Corporate Culture - Because the systems you use for collaboration, coordination, and communication enable the culture, you must think holistically about the entire employee experience and expected behaviors. The CCO is involved by maintaining culture across all different communications platforms and keeping it true to what it should be.

Societal Value Creation - As for value creation, CCOs look across all of the stakeholders that are touched by an enterprise to maximize the positive value that’s created and to find a way to activate purpose to extend value.?

Contact - The CCO leverages technology and uses data to extract insights to understand stakeholders, engage them, and maximize the effectiveness of content. They are also the source for interdepartmental communication - being the eyes, ears, and connectors.?

There are greater opportunities for communications to be involved and help guide the overall strategy of the organization than ever before. It’s important that the CCO be given a seat at the table.

To take a deeper dive into the topic, watch the podcast - link below:

https://www.youtube.com/live/v9JD8hU9dso?si=M3vUGk2pEjg2KunZ?