One of the most common ambitions expressed by communicators is to get that coveted “seat at the table.” The fact is, you don’t need a seat at any table (wherever the table may be) to become a trusted strategic adviser to company leaders. In this month’s Circle of Fellows podcast, four IABC Fellows discuss what it means to be an adviser and what it takes to earn the level of trust that has leaders calling you before they make a decision or problems arise, quoting you when you’re not in the room, and counting on you to help them achieve results and solutions that matter to them.
This month, we are beginning a new feature on Circle of Fellows: In addition to the perspectives of the four panelists, other Fellows are contributing their thoughts, some of which are included in the broadcast and all of which appear at the end of these show notes.
About the panel:
John Gerstner is a strategic communications leader whose work has spanned 30 years and 30 countries on five continents. He has career experience as an internal communications and intranet manager, consultant, marketer, website developer, video producer, book author, magazine editor, photo-journalist, conference producer, radio announcer and public speaker. He is CEO and founder of Communitelligence, an online learning community for corporate communicators. Previously he managed diverse communication assignments at John Deere. These included launching John Deere’s internal communication program and intranet, serving as the company’s first manager of environmental and safety communications and authoring an award-winning coffee-table history book, Genuine Value: The John Deere Journey.
James E. Lukaszewski, America’s Crisis Guru ®, is a bestselling author, national speaker, and trusted strategic adviser to FPO and NPO business operators and leaders during crises, disasters, reputation attacks, contentiousness and when the boss’s future is at stake. Corporate Legal Times listed him as “one of 22 crisis counselors to have in your speed dial when all hell breaks loose.” For more than 30 years, he has confidentially guided hundreds of company leaders thru tough, touchy, sensitive situations. Lukaszewski’s strategies inspire constructive, ethical problem resolving management behavior. A powerful and inspirational speaker, he teaches executives and managers the lessons he has learned. A prolific author, he is quoted and interviewed often as one of the most recognizable leaders in his profession. Lukaszewski is on the web at www.e911.com.
Mark Schumann is the director of graduate business communication programs for the Zzicklin School of Business at Baruch College, City University of New York. He is also founder and principal of re-communicate. Most recently, he was VP of marketing and communications for Western Connecticut Health Network. He served as IABC’s chair in 2009-2010 and is currently IABC’s liaison to the Global Alliance. He was a managing principal and global communication practice leader at Towers Perrin for 26 years.
Jim Shaffer is a business adviser, leadership coach, author, speaker. As leader of the Jim Shaffer Group, he helps organizations accelerate results through superior strategy execution. The Jim Shaffer Group creates hard business results by translating the business strategy to the people who need to implement it, aligning systems, processes, and culture to make the gains sustainable.
Additional observations from other Fellows:
Sheri Rosen —Being a strategic adviser means knowing more than communication strategy. You have to know the company/finances/industry. In my case (employee com), knowing the business means knowing how the executive team handles strategy, which happens to be agile, lean, values-based, Blanchard change management, systems thinking, etc.
Alice Brink — In my very first job out of college, I wrote advertising brochures for farm real estate. I’d probably been there a year when I received some copy back from one of the managers with the note, “Congratulations. You’ve quit trying to write and started to sell real estate.” Mastering that lesson—that what matters most is using communications effectively to meet the goals of the organization—is to me what makes a strategic adviser.
Being a strategic adviser is as much about listening as about creating communications. First you have to fully understand what is driving the client or the executive or the board—what’s the pain point—and then respond in a way that reflects back their concern, then start working toward a solution that they can feel part of. Thinking you need to say, “Bam, I’ve got your answers in my back pocket!” is to ignore the psychological elements of working at the strategic level.
Tamara Gillis — Strategic adviser is a role we earn through trust. And trust is earned through our actions over time. Trust is a two-way contract in relationships—especially when advising organizational leadership.
Mary Ann McCauley — One of the keys to being a strategic adviser is to ask: “What do you want to have happen?” When you are asked to create a “thing.”
Assume you are an adviser and not an order taker.Don’t hesitate to say: “Let me give this some thought before I recommend how to
Don’t hesitate to say: “Let me give this some thought before I recommend how to proceed.” Then tell the person when you’ll respond even if you only take an hour – don’t be bullied into agreeing to create a communication tool that may not be the most effective choice.
Priya Bates — Communication professionals have great potential to become trusted strategic advisers for their organizations. Very few other functions have the special role of using the goals and dreams of leaders and them into words and actions of employees and customers through the power of communication. What a privilege.
Many communication professionals complain about the lack of respect and not being invited to the decision-making table. They also continue to focus on reactive implementation versus proactive interaction, integration, influence, and impact. You can’t expect perception to change by doing things the way you’ve always done them.
Our super power is communication. Our greatest opportunity is to use it to influence and impact organizational results. We turn words into actions, stories, engagement, trust, and loyalty.
Amanda Hamilton-Attwell — The biggest challenge moving into this role is to “ring fence” the services you are planning to deliver. Because you are moving from a specialist or a generalist role, you would tend to revert back to that role—because you know exactly what to do. Even if you do know, do not do it! Be strategic and be an adviser to empower business leaders.
Cindy Schmieg — Advice – Speak up. The first CEO I reported to as a communication director advised me to speak up and share my ideas. Even if they weren’t used, they could spark another idea.
Know the business, products, and customer experience. Present your plans and ideas using this knowledge.
Focus your work to help achieve the organization’s mission and goals.
Measure your programs to the organization’s goals and objectives.
Don’t be afraid to change or discontinue a program that is delivering expected results.
Author information
The post Circle of Fellows #23: Becoming a Strategic Adviser appeared first on Communication World.
Priya Bates is a senior communication executive who provides strategic internal communication counsel in order to ensure leaders, managers, and employees understand the strategy, believe in the vision, act in accordance to the values, and contribute to business results. She is president of Inner Strength Communications in Toronto, and previously served as senior director of Internal Communications at Loblaw Companies Limited.
Mary Hills’s career as a marketing and communication professional has been in companies undergoing significant evolution, change and growth. She has held leadership positions with responsibility for developing plans and schemas to support long term growth and business sustainability goals. She has more than 20 years experience and expertise in designing and delivering training and development programs for companies and organizations, bringing theories, models and frameworks into everyday practice. In addition to her role at HeimannHills Marketing Group, Mary serves as Adjunct Faculty in the MS – Global Strategic Communication program at Loyola University Chicago. Mary speaks internationally and nationally on marketing, communication, standards and practices and women’s leadership topics. She is licensed in Adobe Connect and WebEx, using these to conduct virtual professional learning and education sessions.
Different generations often have different skill sets. The next episode of Circle of Fellows will look at how communication professionals can develop new skills and keep up with trends by cross-training with colleagues of different generations and focusing on lifelong learning, in addition to other techniques and issues.
Tamara Gillis, Ed.D., ABC, straddles the worlds of academia and communication practice. As a tenured professor at Elizabethtown College, she is preparing tomorrow’s corporate communicators. As an author and communications consultant, she continues to influence the practice of communications and change management. Dr. Gillis’s research interests have been recognized on the regional, national and international level by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, International Communication Association and IABC. Gillis was the first educator to serve as chairman of the IABC Research Foundation.
Mary Ann McCauley is committed to ensuring people communicate more effectively about their organizations’ products and services. With a specialty practice in crisis management, Mary Ann addresses sensitive issues with timeliness, dignity, and minimal backlash. “Managing communication during a crisis requires common sense folded into a structured process,” she says.
Brenda C. Siler, a public relations, marketing, and branding professional. She currently manages a consultancy offering short-term public relations, communications, and writing solutions for a variety of clients. Siler has lead communications teams at national associations and nonprofits including AARP, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and UNCF, the United Negro College Fund. At UNCF, she managed the rebranding of this scholarship fund retaining its iconic tagline “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” At the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, she managed a national public awareness campaign featuring actor James Earl Jones. From 1998-99, Siler was Executive Board Chairwoman for the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), She is on the Board of Advisors for PRNews. Siler is a graduate of Spelman College.
Mark Schumann is the director of graduate business communication programs for the Zzicklin School of Business at Baruch College, City University of New York. He is also founder and principal of re-communicate. Most recently, he was VP of marketing and communications for Western Connecticut Health Network. He served as IABC’s chair in 2009-2010 and is currently IABC’s liaison to the Global Alliance. He was a managing principal and global communication practice leader at Towers Perrin for 26 years.
Brad Whitworth is executive communication manager at at Hewlett Packard enterprise. A communication coach at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Brad was most recently senior communication manager at Cisco Systems. Brad joined Cisco in 2007 and today leads integrated communication for the part of the company that builds partner ecosystems for new markets. Before Cisco, Brad led communication programs at HP, PeopleSoft and AAA. He earned undergraduate degrees in both journalism and speech at the University of Missouri and an MBA at Santa Clara University. A former broadcaster, Brad has made more than 300 presentations to executives, communicators, and university classes around the world. Brad has a long history with IABC, including serving as chairman of the international board and president of two local chapters. He is one of the authors of The IABC Handbook of Organizational Communication.
Kellie Garrett, based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, Kellie is a speaker, coach, and strategist, as well as an associate professor at Royal Roads University. Before launching her own business, Kellie was Senior VP of Strategy, Knowledge, and Reputation for Farm Credit Canada.
Jim Shaffer is a business adviser, leadership coach, author, and speaker. As leader of the Jim Shaffer Group, he helps organizations accelerate results through superior strategy execution. The Jim Shaffer Group creates hard business results by translating the business strategy to the people who need to implement it, aligning systems, processes, and culture to make the gains sustainable. Jim was an architect and leading practitioner of Towers Perrin’s (now Towers Willis Watson) change management consulting practice. He designed and produced the IABC Academy Course, “Managing Change Communication to Drive Results and Value.” Some of his change management clients have included: Abbott, ConAgra Foods, FedEx, IBM, ITT, Mayo Clinic, Medtronic, Owens Corning, Pfizer, Toyota.
Roger D’Aprix is an internationally known consultant, lecturer, and author who has helped scores of Fortune 500 companies develop more effective communication strategies, embrace cultural change and achieve better business results. His clients have included such organizations as Comcast, Cisco Systems, DuPont, Lucent Technologies, General Motors, Saturn Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, EDS, GE Capital Services, Marsh, Pfizer and others. Before joining ROI Communication’s Board of Advisors in 2005, Roger served as vice president and global practice leader for Towers Perrin’s human resource communication practice, and as a principal and service developer for Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Before that, he led employee communications for Xerox Corporation and held executive communication positions at General Electric and Bell and Howell. Roger has written several books on employee communication, including his best-selling Communicating for Change: Connecting the Workplace with the Marketplace and The Credible Company: Communicating with Today’s Skeptical Workforce.
In 1996, while on the fast track to a partnership in a growing PR agency, John Deveney opted to strike out on his own and form Deveney, a process and a practice that embraces the soundest principles, the newest media, and the most innovative technologies. Based in New Orleans, Deveney is particularly strong in the areas of crisis, healthcare, tourism, and hospitality. (After hurricanes Katrina and Rita, John led the only on-site communication operation and media center for both the City of New Orleans and the Louisiana Office of Tourism.)
James E. Lukaszewski, America’s Crisis Guru ®, is a bestselling author, national speaker, and trusted strategic advisor to FPO and NPO business operators and leaders during crises, disasters, reputation attacks, contentiousness and when the boss’s future is at stake. Corporate Legal Times listed him as “one of 22 crisis counselors to have in your speed dial when all hell breaks loose.” For more than 30 years, he has confidentially guided hundreds of company leaders thru tough, touchy, sensitive situations. Lukaszewski’s strategies inspire constructive, ethical problem resolving management behavior. A powerful and inspirational speaker, he teaches executives and managers the lessons he has learned. A prolific author, he is quoted and interviewed often as one of the most recognizable leaders in his profession. Lukaszewski is on the web at www.e911.com.
Edward “Ned” Lundquist, a retired U.S. Navy captain with 33 years of professional public affairs and strategic communications experience. He is a principal science writer at MCR Federal in McLean, Virginia, supporting government clients; and has his own company, Echo Bridge LLC, which provides outreach and advocacy support to commercial clients. He served on active duty for 24 years in the U.S. Navy as a surface warfare officer and public affairs specialist. Captain Lundquist was a Pentagon spokesman with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, Director of the Fleet Home Town News Center, and director of public affairs and corporate communications for the Navy Exchange Service Command. His last tour of duty was commanding the 450 men and women of the Naval Media Center. He is an accredited business communicator and award-winning communicator who served as president of IABC/Hampton Roads and IABC/Washington, director of U.S. district 3 and chair of the International Accreditation Council. He was named an IABC Fellow in 2016. Captain Lundquist is a member of the executive committee of the Surface Navy Association and chair of the SNA communications committee. He writes for numerous naval, maritime and defense publications and chairs and presents at communications, naval and maritime security conferences around the world.
Dr. Amanda Hamilton-Attwell is accredited by both IABC and PRSA. She is Managing Director of Business DNA, based in South Africa, which provides strategic research and consulting, including communication audits, customer service and other focused research and training in communication skills. Her career has also included a 15-year stint as a research manager for the National Productivity Institute.
Sheri Rosen is vice president of Employee Communication at Frost Bank in San Antonio, Texas. Before assuming that role, Sheri spent 14 years as president of Rosen Communication Group. For 10 years before that, she was assistant vice president of Employee Communications for USAA, the financial services company. She is accredited by IABC.
Mary Hills’ career as a marketing and communication professional has been in companies undergoing significant evolution, change and growth. She has held leadership positions with responsibility for developing plans and schemas to support long term growth and business sustainability goals. She has more than 20 years experience and expertise in designing and delivering training and development programs for companies and organizations, bringing theories, models and frameworks into everyday practice. In addition to her role at HeimannHills Marketing Group, Mary serves as Adjunct Faculty in the MS – Global Strategic Communication program at Loyola University Chicago. Mary speaks internationally and nationally on marketing, communication, standards and practices and women’s leadership topics. She is licensed in Adobe Connect and WebEx, using these to conduct virtual professional learning and education sessions.
Angela Sinickas is the founder of 
George McGrath is founder and managing principal of McGrath Business Communications, which helps clients build winning corporate reputations, promote their products and services, and advance their views on key issues. George brings more than 25 years in PR and public affairs to his firm. Over the course of his career, he has held senior management positions at leading strategic communications and integrated marketing agencies including Hill and Knowlton, Carl Byoir & Associates, and Brouillard Communications.
Barbara Puffer owns Puffer Public Relations Strategies, where she has served clients for nearly 20 years. Previously, she was Corporate Communications Manager at Barnes Group for 13 years; her communications management career spans 40 years, including work in banking, insurance, and telecommunications organizations. She taught communication studies for 13 years.
Jennifer Wah, MC, ABC, has worked with clients to deliver ideas, plans, words and results since she founded her storytelling and communications firm, 
Brad Whitworth, the moderator of the panel, is a communication manager at Hitachi Vantara. A communication coach at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Brad was most recently an executive communication manager at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Before that, he was senior communication manager at Cisco Systems. Before Cisco, Brad led communication programs at HP, PeopleSoft, and AAA. He earned undergraduate degrees in both journalism and speech at the University of Missouri and an MBA at Santa Clara University. A former broadcaster, Brad has made more than 300 presentations to executives, communicators, and university classes around the world. Brad has a long history with IABC, including serving as chairman of the international board and president of two local chapters. He is one of the authors of The IABC Handbook of Organizational Communication.
George McGrath is founder and managing principal of McGrath Business Communications, which helps clients build winning corporate reputations, promote their products and services, and advance their views on key issues. George brings more than 25 years in PR and public affairs to his firm. Over the course of his career, he has held senior management positions at leading strategic communications and integrated marketing agencies including Hill and Knowlton, Carl Byoir & Associates, and Brouillard Communications.
Cindy Schmieg is an award-winning strategic communicator. With 30+ years of corporate, agency, and consulting experience, Cindy now teaches online within the Communications Master Degree program at Southern New Hampshire. She has served in many IABC leadership roles and today serves as IABC 2018 Gold Quill Awards past chair.
