What should a comms leader "own?"
5.20.26
Happy Wednesday, nonprofit communications leaders.
Every week, I answer a question from a reader. This week's question is actually from an executive director looking to hire their next comms leader:
"What does a communications director actually need to own?"
This leader is asking a great question because it means he's thinking about how a comms leader fits into the organizational structure, not just tasks for the person to check off. Keep reading to see how I answer this executive director.
Congrats to Jen, Director of Communications, on her free year of membership!
Last week I had the joy of gifting a free year of Nonprofit Comms Club membership to one of you! Jen leads communications at a nonprofit serving the developmental disability community. Here's what she shared in her application: "I would love to strengthen my leadership skills as a comms professional, which I believe would not only enhance my abilities but also the skills of those who report to me." Jen is exactly the kind of leader our community is built for. If her words resonate with where you are right now, consider joining the 53 nonprofit comms professionals who are growing from order-taker to strategic partner inside NCC.
So what should a communications leader "own?"
On my snarky days my answer to this is, "ALL OF IT. We need ALL OF IT."
On my days when I'm thinking more clearly and level-headed, this is how I answer that question:
Comms needs to own the message. Don't bring your comms leader a solidified message and ask them to "get it out there." Instead, invite your comms leader into the very first meeting when you're discussing a new program, or initiative, and ask them help you define the actual message for this new thing that will resonate with your audience. Your comms leader is thinking about how each message from your nonprofit will be received so they need to own what the message is. The actual words, the way it is and is not used, the voice, etc.
Comms needs to own the assets. Comms needs to own the assets. Don't bring your comms leader a project brief from an outside contractor and say, "we hired an agency to create this landing page for us and they've also designed the social images to go along with the campaign. Please use these when you go to promote it." 😬 If you want any visual/creative asset to represent your nonprofit your comms leader MUST own that and be brought into the picture ASAP. Your comms leader is not just a button pusher or order taker. They don't just push buttons to spit out a product (your desired social media post) or take your McDonalds order in the drive through. It's not your job to decide what should be posted on social media, published on the website, or created as a video. That's their job. Once they have sat in the strategic meetings, they will then take the goal and the strategic plan and use those things to create a comms strategy, including the best assets to communicate with your audience.
Comms needs to own the comms strategy. This feels like a given, but you'd be amazed how often comms leaders are given "comms strategies" by their coworkers. What i mean by that is often a teammate will come to a comms leader and say, "we have this event coming up and we need social media reels and stories created plus 5 emails sent to donors. I also want you to create a video." That person, without knowing it, did the comms leader work for them. The problem is... they're not a comms person. So while they may think the best way to communicate about their event is through a video and social media, it's actually your comms leader who will know what channels best communicate, how often to use them, and what assets they need.
Ok those are my top 3. What would you add?
Reply to me and tell me. I'm seriously curious!
Happy communicating,
Julie
CCO for Nonprofits
P.S. Want a question answered in a future issue? Drop it here.