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Nail your first 100 days as a Director of Communications

Writer's picture: Louise ThompsonLouise Thompson

New to a Comms Director role? Here's how to set yourself up for success.


I've made a successful career out of being the inaugural hire in various Communications roles. From a newly created Comms Manager role at AOL (remember them?!), to multiple Director roles in both public (the NHS) and private sector, I've been able to forge a path for others and sometimes that meant learning the hard way!


If you're new to the role as a Director of Communications - you may even be the first one in your organisation's history - there are some key insights that could either trip you up or set you on the path to success.


And by the way - I'm not saying you shouldn't learn these lessons for yourself. Failure is a really powerful teacher.


But starting a new role is hard enough. And the first 100 days are crucial in setting out your intention and your value to the organisation. There's no time to waste.


So here are five things that every new Director of Communications should do to set themselves up for success.

  1. Start before you begin

  2. Understand your stakeholders

  3. Lead with curiousity

  4. Take advice but make your own decisions

  5. Don't second guess what success looks like


Start before you begin

Here's an easy way to find out how Communications is thought of within the organisation, even before you join. When you're applying and you look at the job spec for the Director of Communications, request a brief informational call and then ask these questions:

"Who developed the job description?"

"And who signed it off?"


The answer should illuminate how Communications is thought of within the organisation and where it might sit. For example, whether HR led, or Marketing, or even the Executive team. I bet many people don’t ask this question, but I think it’s a good one.


The best way to prepare for success in any new role and especially as a first time Director, is to do as much due diligence as you can before your first day.


Meet your team. Meet your peers. Meet your Board. Ask the questions that will help you understand how Communications works within the organisation, where the gaps are and how it is valued.


Understand your stakeholders

Stakeholders are the people within and beyond your organisation that have a voice and a view. This could be formal or informal, senior or peer level, but these groups really matter.

If you're going to be leading the Communications directorate, you need to get to know your stakeholders, including customers/users, so you can understand what drives them, what's bothering them and what matters to them.


Map them out. Prioritise them.


Make it your mission to connect with your priority stakeholders during your first 100 days (and before you start if you can). Meet them, listen to them.


Then ensure that you have a robust plan in place for ongoing engagement that references, includes and co-creates with stakeholders, helping you land difficult decisions and changes with impact and empathy.


Lead with curiousity

In your first 100 days as a Director of Communications, curiousity is your superpower.

It's your window of opportunity to ask searching questions and use your newly joined status in the organisation to peek under the hood and start figuring out how everything works.


This is a really powerful period in your new role, so don't waste it! Use every interaction with someone at work to glean new information and ask another question.


If you want a starter list of powerful questions to ask, please get in touch!


Take advice but make your own decisions

Believe it or not, some new directors join an organisation ready to pass immediate judgement on their team. Whether it's their new boss telling them who's good at their job and who isn't (in their opinion), or simply a desire to be the new broom, it's tempting to take action straight away. To show that you're a firecracker. That you've got the goods.


This very rarely works. Scratch that. It never works.


People are human beings not machines and their performance can be down to so many factors beyond their actual capability and skills. Without taking time in the first 100 days to get to know your team as individuals, see them working together and understand what motivates them (and what doesn't), how can you make an effective judgement?


There's nothing wrong with gaining advice and insight from other people. In fact, it's an essential part of learning and growing. However, what you do with that insight and advice is what counts.


Find out for yourself. And remember, you're the expert. That's why they hired you!


Don't second guess what success looks like

You may think you know what success looks like as a Director of Communications. After all, you've worked in this field for years and you know your stuff.


However...


Never assume that your definition of a successful Communications strategy is shared by your stakeholders and by the management team.

Why? There are a number of things happening that could impact how your work is received.

  • Your organisation may not have a clear vision and objectives. (You can help with this by the way!)

  • Your management team may not be aligned on what's important and who is important.

  • Individuals may have their own reasons for wanting certain outcomes (often this is our old friend, ego!)

  • Your expertise and language around Communications measurement may not easily translate when talking about business outcomes - you'll need to work hard to make this happen


One of the most important things you can do as you start to formulate the approach for your organisation as a new Director of Communications, is to ensure that everyone that counts is aligned on what success looks like.


Road test this. Talk to people. Challenge them if they need challenging. Be challenged if you need challenging. Understand the language that will get you heard. And be specific about what you think success looks like in terms of the Communications function. Then get it sense checked and signed off, with regular reviews and check-ins along the way.


And a bonus tip for you...


Invest in your leadership development

I'm amazed by the fact that technical excellence is often assumed to be the only qualification for a Director-level role. It goes without saying that as a newly appointed Director of Communications, you will have expertise in this field. But what about the rest of it?

The leadership skills? Team development? Stakeholder management? Leading through change? Delivering bad news? Making tough decisions? Speaking the language of the board? And the biggie, transcending your function to be a leader across the organisation?


I work with first time Communications Directors to help them build confidence and credibility, so that they can succeed as a valued leader. If that's you, I'd love to talk and see if I can help.


I can also support your discussions with your organisation about CPD funding for our coaching sessions together, so let me know if this is something you need.

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