Convince your leadership to love comms
Written by KATIE TEST DAVIS
Too often, an organization’s communications team is buried several levels removed from the leadership team. We’ve seen it all: the comms teams nestled in Development, over in Policy, part of IT, or even reporting to Finance and HR.
And when an organization's communications function is separated from leadership – especially when communications team members don’t get to work closely with the ultimate leader (Executive Director, Superintendent, etc.) – the working relationship can get…um…how do I put it politely? Tense. Unappreciated. Confusing.
As someone who has been both a C-suite exec AND a comms director, I get it. (Sometimes, in the best organizations, I’ve been in both roles at the same time. But that’s not the norm.)
Today, I’m using both these experiences to share how to build two-way trust when it comes to communication-centric tasks.
Trust-Builder #1: Align on Clear Goals
What is the communications team doing for your organization? Why is it important for the overall mission? These are questions your colleagues should be able to answer – and it all begins with you.
Start with clear goals. When there aren’t clear goals for an organization’s communications work, everyone is coming to the party expecting different things. Good communication goals should directly align to and support the organization’s overall goals and strategic plan.
Then, connect them with the target audiences who matter to your organization. Once you’ve established clear goals for the communications work, you can choose your target audiences and then set clear metrics (see below!) for what success looks like. There should be a visible, direct line between the two.
Finally, show your work and start building that trust. Make a pitch deck about how your work supports larger organizational goals. Ask to present it at a leadership team meeting, and make sure you leave time for questions. Once leadership gets it, then ask to present it at the next all-staff meeting.
Go way back to basics and teach communications 101. Include an org chart, examples of your work in action (screenshots of your new website, or a great media placement work well here), and end with how your colleagues can support your work.
You’re well on your way to showing how critical communications is to your organization.
Trust-Builder #2: Regularly Report Metrics
Communications work is notoriously hard to measure, but you should ALWAYS try. Create a dashboard and track metrics. If you’re working hard on expanding your reach on social media, set goals and then show your progress against them with your organization’s leadership on a regular cadence. Can’t find time to present in a meeting? Recap the metrics and share them over email. (Hint: a chart or graph will go a long way in making your point for you).
It’s so important that everyone in your organization understands what you’re working on and how it supports their work. Once people understand the role you play in the larger fabric of the organization, you’ll be able to forge internal partnerships that will empower you to tell great stories or better understand advocacy nuances. You’ll earn more respect and appreciation for your hard-fought wins. And you’ll get more done, faster.
Trust-Builder #3: Ask Questions
As a busy leader myself, I can tell you, things shift often and always. Priorities change, problems pop up and get resolved, teams shift, and the world is ever-evolving. That’s the same for all leaders. So one of the best things that leaders and communications teams can do to build trust is asking questions. Checking in about priorities, concerns, updates and more can help everyone stay on the same page in shifting sands.
Some questions you can ask include:
What’s been top of mind this week for you?
What has evolved or shifted since we last spoke?
I have an update for you on the XYZ project. Before I share, do you have any updates that I should know about?
Last week, we decided I should focus my time on ABC priority. Is that still our biggest priority?
How did That Big Meeting go? Did anyone have feedback I should be aware of?
Communication work is mission-critical to every successful organization. To be effective, it’s important that the communications team is embedded in the programmatic work, kept up to date on changing priorities and knows how their work supports the overall mission of the organization. With those ingredients in place, trust will naturally flow, and the organization will be all the better for it.
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