It is nearly fifty years since Broom and Smith first published their studies into professional role development in public relations. This established career ambitions of advancement through a hierarchy of aspiration from delivering technical services to attaining an expert manager position.
This simple structure has been critiqued for reflecting a traditional favouring of a linear male mobility. Early research found that women in public relations tended to remain in technical positions, while men dominated management roles. This criticism continues to be levelled at the occupation today.
Hierarchical ambitions
One reason why the dichotomy of technician/manager remains attractive is that securing a high status position (whether working in-house, within a consultancy or as an independent practitioner) is not simply a concern for individual careers, but has importance for the occupation itself.
In academia and practice, there is an emphasis on the PR function reporting directly to the CEO, having membership of the dominant coalition (an elite group of organisational decision makers) and being involved in strategic matters.
Career ambitions are expressed predominantly through this lens. For instance, in their book, Strategic public relations leadership, Gregory and Willis (2013) state:
Promotion is often based on personal credibility and senior managers’ confidence that a contribution can be made at a higher level.
Strategically valued function
Furthermore, credibility and confidence are essential to the self-image of public relations as a strategic management function. In particular, this can be found in respect of involvement in the management of risk, issues and crisis situations, where public relations is positioned as a strategically valued function.
For individuals, attaining a trusted advisor role means a seat in the boardroom. As was evident at the recent Deloitte Crisis Management Conference (see companion post at PR Place), responsibility for crisis communications offers a key to opening the door.
The ambitions of individuals and the wider occupation are entwined around a strategic management narrative. However, from a careers perspective, this limited view of career development presents several problems.
The main issue is that a hierarchical focus highlights the careers of the few and not the many.
Careers for the many not the few
Everyone working in public relations or communications may seek to be recognised for the calibre of their work, which in turn should enable them to be a trusted advisor. However, a bureaucratic career model by design only offers opportunities to provide strategic counsel to those who secure hierarchal promotion.
Within the boardroom there will only be one PR/comms chair. Like a game musical chairs everyone else must be a loser.
However, there is a challenge in finding talented individuals within public relations – as discussed in the previous post. Hence, a wider view of career ambitions is required. Those working in public relations and communications roles develop their careers in many different directions – and the importance of transferable skills and broad capabilities will only increase in a volatile world of employment. This underlines the importance of sustainable career development through lifelong learning.
Capabilities beyond strategic communications
Again returning to the Deloitte Crisis Management Conference, there are many options for career development for those with crisis communications expertise within this field. This requires attainment of operational knowledge and competencies.
Additionally, a more extensive set of management capabilities is required than may be attained within a strategic communications role.
What I’m suggesting is career ambitions beyond strategic communications management. As well as outwards, we can look upwards. Attaining a head of PR or communications role, particularly with a seat at the top table, is a significant achievement for the individual, and confers status on the occupation itself.
Yet, unless ambitions are greater, the function remains secondary to finance, law, marketing and sales as the route to becoming managing director or chairman of a major organisation regardless of sector (private, public or not-for-profit).
Here I’m not talking about those working as consultants or independent practitioners giving advice to the CEO or MD. Or holding these posts in their own organisation. This is about ambitions within organisations. It is one thing for public relations / communications to be valued as a strategic management function, but it requires real ambition to ensure it is recognised as playing a critical role in realising career ambitions beyond strategic communications.
We don’t just need organisational leaders with strategic communications capabilities, we need those with strategic communication capabilities to become organisational leaders.
Reflecting on a recent PR Conversations conversational post between myself and Ann Pilkington this ambition certainly requires attracting smart people to build careers in public relations. Rather than aspiring to be managers – their ambitions should be rhizomatic allowing for upwards movement and for multiple, non-hierarchical entry and exit points.
An interesting read, particularly when I consider the ‘square peg, square hole’ hiring mentality that prevails in Australia.
I deliberately structured my education, professional development and career path to work across the PR spectrum. I’ve worked agency side and in house. I’ve managed internal communication, PR campaigns, crisis communication and ran departments that managed both internal and external comms across different sectors. I’ve lectured and convened PR courses and had a spell as a journalist.
Moving from one specialism to another was achieved by persistence and grit. Recruiters, whether internal or external, like to put you in a box labelled according to the last role you held.