As world becomes more volatile & social, role of Communicator intensifies
By Gary Sheffer
Once thought of solely as the moody wordsmith who churned out press releases and jokes for the boss, the Chief Communications Officer (CCO) today is an expansive, strategic role that is crucial to virtually every facet of an enterprise.
If you think this is just the bragging of a CCO, you’re wrong. Ask Volkswagen if it wishes it was better at crisis communications. Or Jeb Bush if he’d like to know how to make meaningful connections with people. Or GE a few years ago when I was CCO (I retired at the end of 2015) if it wanted a simpler, more persuasive way to explain its tax bill (oof!).
In our volatile and pugilistic world, the democratization of brand via social media, uncertainty in politics and societies, and the transformation of journalism, smart leaders recognize that the CCO is a powerful partner in enhancing reputation, culture and commercial success.
As the Arthur W. Page Society explains in its New CCO report, the role is truly about creating opportunities and relationships, inside and outside the enterprise, that build trust and opportunity. Today’s CCOs must be able to operate in areas where they had previously only played a supporting role. Take “culture” (everything an enterprise does and how it does it). Because culture is essential to a strong reputation (see Volkswagen), CCOs now partner with HR to understand the passions and aspirations of their colleagues, and to express this collective purpose simply and persuasively.
A few years ago a junior executive at Goldman Sachs, claiming a “toxic” culture, announced his resignation from the bank on the op-ed page of The New York Times. By the time I got into my chair that morning, GE CEO Jeff Immelt had e-mailed me: “Could we handle something like this?” I immediately began planning how I would “push back” on such an op-ed.
But then I realized Jeff wasn’t asking me for tactics. He wanted to know if our culture was strong enough that this wouldn’t happen at GE in the first place. And, he wanted to know if culture was at the top of my “to do” list. You bet it was after that e-mail.
Reflecting on situations like this during my 13 years leading communications at GE, I believe the best way to describe the new CCO is to list the things I did (imperfectly) every day:
1. Scan, Analyze and Act. Every CEO must be the eyes and ears of the enterprise, analyzing information and developments and up with a plan to act fast. Conflict in Crimea…how will this affect our business in Russia? Interesting story in the Journal about investor activism…wonder if our investor relations team has seen it?
2. Play Offense and Defense: Many CCOs are excellent firefighters but boards and CEOs expect us to play offense too — to influence and advocate from a position of strength rather than weakness. This requires telling your story aggressively and honestly through paid, owned and earned media platforms. Many CCOs now run their own media shops in partnership with their Marketing colleagues.
3. Coach and Teach. Up, down and sideways. How do I answer the “How’d I do?” question after the CEO comes off stage without getting fired? How can I help my peers in the C-Suite (“Your presentation lacks a central point. Why don’t we try…”) and my team (“Don’t let style get in the way of your substance.”)? I held a daily 8:30 a.m. team meeting so we could update each other but also so that everyone could learn from these discussions.
4. Recruit and Develop. At GE we had 500 communicators globally and they all needed to be good. I spoke at communications schools, watched for talent at industry conferences and implemented training and retention programs. We focused on leadership; my experience is that senior communicators fail because they are poor leaders, not poor communicators.
5. Negotiate and Compromise. Everything requires some degree of diplomacy — language, timing, staffing, budgets, deadlines, strategies. I’d ask the general counsel, “If we can’t say this, what can we say?” Today’s CCO is as much a mediator as a communicator.
6. Listen and Question. Many times in meetings, I did not say much. But I listened to business leaders describe their complex products, plans or problems. Near the end of the meeting, I would ask “dumb” questions that hopefully would simplify our point and eliminate stuffy corporate language.
7. Learn and Humanize. GE has some of the smartest people in the world working on six continents. I visited them not just to find stories, but to better understand the company and to build trust with colleagues. I needed to know how we made money, what data best illuminate our performance, and what problems we were trying to solve. This helped our team to humanize the colossus that is GE.
8. Speak Up. The C-Suite needs to hear the unvarnished truth from someone with the courage to give it. The CCO has to strenuously advocate for being as forthright and transparent as possible with all stakeholders. Honesty is the lifeblood of trust.
9. Engage and Network. The CCO must cultivate “influencers” through personal relationships, social media or partnerships. This includes journalists, NGOs, academics, analysts, creatives and consumers. In other words, just about everyone.
10. Integrate: CCOs have a broad view of an enterprise. They must connect dots and integrate conflicting interests. For example, working with investor relations and human resources, how can we explain spending cuts to investors without scaring employees? To be able to do this, CCOs must have deep understanding of how business works.
The best CCOs today work across an enterprise to ensure that its mission, purpose and values are faithfully represented not just in communications but in actions. It’s a burgeoning role that has influence over much of the enterprise and its relationships. It truly is an exciting time to be a CCO.
Gary Sheffer previously served as Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs for General Electric, and is the immediate past chairman of the Arthur W. Page Society.
