The other glass ceiling for communication professionals

3 signs your organisation has a strategic communication ceiling, and what to do about it.

There’s a lot of pressure on communication professionals to be strategic with every breath they take. And yet, we see a lot of steam being let off in comms groups and posts about the dumb things teams get asked to do, from logos for projects to vanity newsletters to rah-rah for soft initiatives. Laughter helps the pain. But sometimes we need to rip off the bandaid and fix the problem.

Trigger warning: Some organisations are not going to be ready for your strategic powers. There, we’ve said it. It’s out now. Recognising that is the first step in admitting there is a problem. Otherwise, strap in for a perpetual disconnect between those orders you’re taking and your Gold Quill winning potential. And while in some cases the only cure for that is going to be finding a different organisation where your difference-making can connect, sometimes you need to make the best of a tactical bunch.

Here are three symptoms, and some more-than-a-bandaid strategic communication fixes that have been applied in organisations I’ve worked with.??

?????? Too many horses in the race

If the most important things for the organisation can’t be boiled down to some sticky messages, there are too many horses in the race for attention. Some businesses or NGOs are complicated and they do a lot. This one can be a little political as sometimes there is a WAYSTAR-sized political jostle for attention and resources as the root cause of the ‘me too’ of projects and initiatives. But somewhere it’s possible to either roll up the most important thing to a level that makes sense for everyone, or to segment that most important thing down in a way that can make sense to very different parts of the organisation. Your tool, fearless communication professional, in this situation is to facilitate the ‘for us this means’ conversations. Too many execs needing their functional activity included in a one page plan? Let’s have a conversation about ‘what this means for your part of the organisation…’. This works well with the segmentation tips below.?

The Easter egg in this situation for communicators is that sometimes your function is in a unique position to see how much spaghetti is being created by competing initiatives. You get to skip a generation of incremental strategic practice if you can capture this, reflect it back through the COO or Strategy Office or the ET - and you will be doing strategic communication risk management by doing so. Start point for this conversation might look like ‘we’re ambitious and we’re doing a lot, but let’s talk about what that looks like for the managers and teams - at the moment we’re asking them to drink from a firehose’. ??

??????Culture of command and control

Communication is a collaborative process. Some leaders aren't wired that way. In cultures where feedback and two way communication aren't welcomed, strategic communication can be a risk and harm minimisation activity. There's a lot of data elsewhere about the risk culture of people not being able to speak up, provide feedback, admit mistakes - and how this plays into everything from regulatory failure, health and safety and other toxic workplace outcomes.

Typical demands include ensuring positive media coverage despite the organisation not necessarily doing things that will generate positive media coverage. Indicative measures include 100% of anything - especially sentiment or engagement. (May have buried employee engagement surveys in the past.)

What strategic might look like for you in this environment: converting demands into briefs and negotiating realistic targets. Using case studies with leaders - often from competitors - to show cause and effect. Data will be your friend.?Check industry surveys for what 'good practice' looks like and be prepared to explain the relationship between 'being seen to do something' and actually doing it. Arm yourself with evidence and be prepared to practice difficult conversations -it's not a ridiculous thing to practice these with a coach or mentor. There's some courage to be shown in this environment - and it's one of the more serious symptoms of a non-strategic leadership function.

You're mst used phrase in this environment might be something like 'I'm hearing that what is important to achieve is XXX. We could do X, and we could [insert better approach in a way that makes clear their outcome has been heard].

The other key tactic in this enviroment is to always present a 'not terrible' choice to leaders with an explanation of what outcomes that might have, alongside the demanded outcome - and the outcomes that may have. You have made your best professional offer and highlighted what is possible. The decision may not be yours but you've ensured it's not a blind choice.

?? Everything to everyone always at once ??

“Get this out to all staff” This is a tell-only culture, and one that hasn’t understood the value of segmenting information for relevance. Sure, there is a time for all staff announcements, but you - strategic comms pro that you are - know that when we communicate to ‘Everyone’ we are in fact communicating to no one. Two hacks for shifting this one: This is where the organisational minute pays for itself. The organisational minute is the rolled-up average cost of all staff salaries across the year, divided by 365. Getting it is an opportunity to engage with one of your strategic allied - Finance. But if they won’t help, the base numbers will be in the financial reporting. Then you make a case that if everyone in the organisation spent XX minutes digesting this information that is only relevant to XX% of the organisation, you’ve actually burned $xx organisational minutes without getting a result. Caution: this can lead to NOT communicating, so beware of this unintended consequence.

That’s where you can then introduce Tactic 2 - the persona. Your IT folk might have already done some work in this space, but even if they have, here’s a chance to take strategic insight and create value. Having a handful of personas that represent the working experience, background and constraints of your key audiences allows you to quickly show an alternative path to ‘get this out to everyone now’. It will take a little work: but knowing your audiences, their perspectives and their communication needs is the cornerstone of being able to communicate effectively with them, and doing so will increase the effectiveness of what you do in a way that any Executive team will take notice of.?

Change takes time - or it doesn't happen

These are just three examples of symptoms that an organisation is deep in the tactical weeds and needs to elevate its thinking about communication as a strategic lever. You’re not going to make those changes in one hit or overnight. Picking and choosing where your ability to create impact and make those changes is part of your strategic development.?

And sometimes, you'll do all these things and the needle might not move enough. That's why every communication professional needs to own their own professional development and career plan. If you've hit a ceiling on how strategic your practice can be in an environment, you might find its time for a new environment. What you will have learned in the process will be invaluable for every communication role you take subsequently.

What are some of the other signs of strategic immaturity you’ve experienced, and how have you addressed them?

?? If you need some help breaking through, seeing differently, or pointing your attention to your organisation’s challenges - or in thinking through your next professional development step - please get in touch. ???