From Comms Professional to CEO’ explores what holds comms people back on their professional journey to leadership positions. The report provides advice for professionals on making the journey to the top based on qualitative research interviews with CEO’s who have a communications background.

1. PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
–
cipr.co.uk
From Comms
Professional to CEO
CIPR Skills Guide
This guide is worth 5 CPD points

2. Tips for your journey from
comms professional to CEO
Learning outcomes:
• Learn what holds comms people back on the journey to the top
leadership positions
• Get useable hints and tips to help on your journey to CEO
• Learn from the experience of other CEOs about establishing yourself in the role
Introduction
Thanks to the contributors who spared their time to talk about their journey to the top
of an organisation and shared what they learned:
What follow are some themes which arose from these discussions. The interviews
weren’t a representative sample, but a group of people willing to share their
experiences to help others think about their career journey.
One key theme was the lack of visible role models of communications people making
it into top jobs. Hopefully this report can go some way to address this.
Some made a conscious decision and set about getting the experience and skills they
needed. Many acknowledged the combination of luck and judgement in securing their
first role. For some, the gap between thinking they were fit for the role and taking the
intentional steps to get there was long, for others, it was significantly shorter with
circumstance making them initially an “accidental CEO.”
All had wisdom to impart.
Stephen Burke
Director, United
for All Ages
Tom Grinyer
CEO, British
Medical
Association
Ruth Davison
CEO, Islington and
Shoreditch Housing
Association
Gail Scott-Spicer
CEO, Kings
College Hospital
Charity
Michelle Doyle
Wildman
CEO, Political
Studies Association
Lorraine Langham
CEO, Future First
Gavin Ellwood
Founder, Ellwood
Atfield
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3. Just do it
This was the clarion call from many interviewees. All of the people interviewed have
made the leap and so it is possible. There was a general sense that some comms
people think that they will not be considered and so don’t try. This could be a self-
fulfilling prophecy. Historically CEOs came from an operational or financial background,
but there are more and more examples of a wider pool being considered.
Michelle Doyle Wildman said “Don’t get hung up on your discipline, a board will be
looking for all sorts of things from a CEO: commercial awareness, team management,
financial management. Comms people have these, so don’t downplay the wider
business skills your comms roles have given you.”
Lorraine Langham said, “Coming up through communications roles gives a broad range
of invaluable skills, strategic thinking, crisis management, problem solving, fantastic
interpersonal skills, wonderful written and oral skills, political nous- reading the room,
negotiation and brokering, partnership and collaboration. These are many of the skills
needed in senior roles rather than the “old school” finance or legal routes to the top.”
Ruth Davison said “It isn’t just about the numbers. If I’m speaking to people who may be
lending millions of pounds to my organisation, it isn’t just about the balance sheet, they
are considering if there is a leadership team they can believe in and who can manage
the business. That is about hearts and minds, it is telling the story well, it’s all of the
things that comms people do. We have a really strong offer to 21st century businesses.”
Stephen Burke said “There are false assumptions about what is needed in a CEO role.
It is about setting the strategy to achieve the board’s vision, communicating well within
and outside the organisation and delivering the strategy through performing well as an
organisation. If you’re not a good communicator, you’re not going to be a good CEO.”
Gavin Ellwood said “Confidence is important, lots of comms people think there is a big
stretch to being a CEO. I would encourage them not to think there are more steps than
there really are. The war on Covid means that the need for leaders of the C-suite to
communicate effectively to internal and external audiences has become even more
important.”
Comms people write the story for the organisation, so who better to tell it? So what
can we learn about a journey to the top from those who have made the grade?
Know your gaps
When Tom Grinyer was thinking about going for a CEO vacancy in his organisation,
he spoke to someone senior in the governance structure and asked what they were
looking for, this helped position him when the interim role became available and
flagged the areas he needed to work on.
Identifying your gaps was a theme across all of the interviews. A level of self-awareness
is critical. Keep up with your CPD, use everything you can from your employer, but if
they won’t invest, take the time to do it yourself and be prepared to reflect and call out
your own areas for development.
Looking at job descriptions for CEO roles is a great way to assess yourself against them
to identify gaps. Whilst they are all different, there are many common elements. Two
key areas pointed out by Gail Scott-Spicer that Comms people often need to address
are finance and governance. Gail sought out opportunities to be involved in projects
outside her role remit such as a governance review so that she had this experience for
her CV.
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4. Position yourself in your current role
“The people who have the overview of an organisation are the chief executive and the
comms team, no one else. From the most junior comms positions you’ve held, you’re
thinking about the right strategic decisions, assessing the pros and cons for the
organisation, staff and the wider landscape. You’ve been advising senior people.
Uniquely, if a board hires a comms person as a CEO, they haven’t just had a few years
thinking about strategic trade-offs, they’ve had an entire career so they’ll be thinking in
a deeper, rounder, cleverer way. With good comms people it is never just about telling
the story, if you can’t simply explain or justify something then the job is to hold a mirror
up to the organisation and to change the story” said Ruth Davison.
Tom Grinyer talked about using your current comms role to widen your perspective
“Be ready to contribute from a corporate perspective, not just a communications
perspective when issues are being discussed. This means doing your homework and
being on top of the corporate agenda.”
Lorraine Langham also talked about doing your homework and contributing widely,
“create a reputation from inside as someone who can add value, who has something to
bring to the table.”
Comms leaders are often close to Chief Executives and key non-executives and so the
opportunity to learn from good leaders in your current organisation is often there.
Lorraine continued “use your proximity to the people on the board to leverage for your
own growth and development. Comms people have the ear of the CEO, we hold the
secrets and know where the bodies are buried, use that proximity to be seen in a
broader way.”
Stretch yourself
Put yourself forward internally – take opportunities to get involved, especially in
corporate strategy development. When in meetings, contribute from a corporate
perspective, not just a comms perspective.
Tom Grinyer said “seek to shoulder some wider corporate responsibility in some way”,
this could be from getting on a strategy working group to seeking to represent the
CEO at external meetings.
Lorraine Langham said “I looked for difficult projects or parts of the organisation that
no one wanted, that need a turnaround or a good manager and sought to take them
on. I first took on allied services, such as reception and information functions, the print
room, and tourism, then grew this to other corporate services like HR, legal, IT. I grew
the work and built a corporate role and became seen as a general manager who could
drive performance in any service, not just my specialism. Be good at what you do,
deliver what you said you’d do, demonstrate the wider impact, then you can argue ‘if I
can do that here, I can do it somewhere else’.”
All of this will help you have examples to talk about on your CV and at interview which
plug your gaps.
Ruth Davison said “Often as leaders and managers, we prioritise other peoples’
learning and development needs. We should think about our own too, as that will help
us be better leaders and managers. I would often think about team members’ needs
and put in coaching or development for them. I should’ve done this for myself too.”
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5. Network, network, network
“Nurture your networks” Stephen Burke said. He stresses the importance of
networking, not just within your organisation, but also more widely. You never know
where a connection will help with some background or inside knowledge about
opportunities. “Get close to leaders you respect in organisations you admire.”
Michelle Doyle Wildman said “spend time with your future kind.”
Get on board
Non-executive roles are a great addition to your CV. Leading headhunters I spoke to
will look for this breadth of experience in first time Chief Executives and almost all
interviewees spoke about Board and Trustee roles and the value they add to your CV.
They are not always easy to get, however. Gail Scott-Spicer said “go for ones clearly
saying they want comms experience and keep applying.” Don’t forget to consider
school governor and other community roles too, this all broadens your experience and
adds depth to your CV. Stephen Burke said “getting on boards lets you see how other
organisations are managed. Get that experience under your belt, every organisation is
different and run differently.” Gavin Ellwood said “A communications leader with board
experience demonstrates not just your discipline, but that you can take wider
responsibilities for the stewardship of an organisation.”
The CIPR runs on volunteer roles, Lorraine Langham highlighted her work on a CIPR
committee and Chair of a sector group saying “it makes you more interesting to
employers internally or externally, having national profile and a national role means
rather than seeing you just as someone in this job, they see you more widely. You
should also know when to let these roles go. There was a point when I stepped away
from my profession so that I was not seen as Lorraine the PR person.”
Steps on the way
Lorraine Langham suggested thinking about the type of organisation you get
experience in.
“Small organisations need good all-rounders so choose one where you’ll be able to
turn your hand to lots of things and build your skills.”
“Large organisations in crisis need good people and give you the chance to prove
yourself on a wider canvas.”
“Stable large organisations are more hierarchical with linear departments but harder to
get opportunities, so choose one that is going through change or crisis which needs
every advocate and every person at the helm.”
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6. Apply yourself
A strong steer is to take the opportunity to apply for vacancies - getting rejected and
figuring out why is great learning in itself. Many CEO roles are filled by headhunters,
Gail Scott-Spicer said “Just apply. Take the chance for informal discussions with
headhunters offered at the early part of the application process. Once you’ve had that
discussion, you stick much more in their mind.” Gavin Ellwood agrees, “Headhunters
are working daily with people who are hiring or interviewing CEOs, so take advantage
of that knowledge of market trends and conditions. Increasing your visibility with those
who can facilitate your move can only be helpful.”
Comms people shouldn’t be afraid of getting support in presenting themselves to
headhunters and employers. Professional advisers are available who will interview you
and rewrite your CV in the language of the people who will be looking at it.
Michelle Doyle Wildman said, “I would also recommend considering building your
experience through taking up interim CEO roles.”
Don’t make it difficult
Lorraine Langham said “PR has a PR problem, we are often pigeon holed and seen as
fluffy, lightweight and bouncy, without the gravitas for a senior role. We are often seen
as tactical problem solvers, not strategic. I hate that being seen as binary choice as you
are often both. It is about how the profession is seen, but also about how the individual
is seen. People have stereotypes and we have no latitude to be off-putting. Use
external feedback to see how you are seen so that you can grow beyond the
boundaries that others impose on you.”
Choose carefully
Michelle Doyle Wildman talked about different organisations needing different types of
chief executive depending where they are as a business. They may need a turnaround
specialist if failing, a transformational CEO if they want to take their USP and
supercharge it, or a CEO to sustain and maintain peak performance. “It is about
thinking ‘Am I this sort of CEO?’. You should reflect on what you are offering and apply
for roles where you match it to the type of CEO they are looking for.”
Gavin Ellwood said “Comms people are extremely well qualified, especially but not
exclusively when the kernel of the organisation is communications as opposed to
operations. Traditionally CEOs were accountants, then the marketing director became
a contender, now commercially minded comms people are becoming additional strong
candidates in the line up for the top position.”
Ruth Davison talked about looking for an organisation that excites you, that you believe
in, that shares your values and that you “are prepared to put your neck on the line for.”
Chair relationship
The relationship between the chair and CEO is critical. “Making sure you understand
each other and that you know and can deliver their priorities is essential. Spend as
much time as you can getting to know them as part of the recruitment process” said
Gail Scott-Spicer.
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7. When you get there
“I wish I’d done it earlier. When you’re in your 30s and maybe having kids, you think
maybe that a director job is a bit easier than a CEO role. It’s not harder, it’s just
different” said Ruth Davison. “If you have a vision for an organisation, it is harder to
do that managing upwards and sidewards than it is by doing it yourself. Longitudinal
studies have shown that more senior people are less stressed, largely because they
have a greater locus of control. You get to change the things you don’t like.”
Michelle Doyle Wildman said “Once you get a taste for it, it is almost impossible to
go back.”
There are always surprises to deal with however Gail Scott-Spicer wasn’t alone in saying
“No matter how much due diligence you do, you still arrive and someone says ’they
have told you about the finances haven’t they?’.”
Several interviewees talked about needing external support more than ever once in the
role. Stephen Burke said “Being a CEO can be quite a lonely job. As the leader of an
organisation there will be things you can’t share within the organisation, but you need
a sounding board, whether a mentor or peer support from people doing similar jobs
elsewhere.”
Hit the ground running
“How you relate to your senior managers is important. Ensuring they perceive you as
a fit person to run the organisation is important. You need to win hearts and minds for
the team to deliver with you. Identify and deliver some quick wins both internally and
externally to build your credibility in the first couple of months, this is critical” said
Stephen Burke.
Impostor syndrome
Ruth Davison said “Comms people should believe in the worth of our own profession.
The accountants and lawyers aren’t sitting there thinking ‘do you think it’s alright if I am
a CEO?’ It never crosses their mind. Don’t be guilty of thinking, like others, that comms
is fluffy. It isn’t.”
Gail Scott-Spicer said “Like any step up, the first time there is likely to be some self-
doubt when you become aware of what you don’t know. Impostor syndrome is now
widely documented. Accept it, be open about it in appropriate fora and seek support
from a mentor or buddy.”
Don’t reinvent wheels
Several people talked about the fact that stepping up is not new and there is lots of
support and reading. “Everything you are dealing with has been dealt by someone
else in the past, learn what they did and what they’d have done differently.” said Gail
Scott-Spicer. The Harvard Business Review’s “the First 90 days” was mentioned by
several people as the go to book and ACEVO as a source of great support for
voluntary sector CEOs.
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8. Next steps
So there you have it. Comms people can make the cut, these trail blazers have shown
us that. We have the skills, we just need the self-confidence as a profession. Hopefully
their hints and tips will help on your journey from comms to CEO. Good luck.
Other resources
Video - Breaking Through the ‘Glass Ceiling’ to Reach Senior Management Position
Peter Holt interview with PRCA
Blog – From comms officer to deputy CEO, one year on by Laura Skaife-Knight
Blog – I’m a comms chief who became a CEO, and you can do it too by Michelle Doyle
Wildman
Blog – Boards, consider a comms person as your next CEO – Mike Browne
Website - ACEVO for voluntary sector CEOs
Author: Mike Browne
How-Now Communications
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