Happy Wednesday, nonprofit communications leaders.

This morning I'm speaking at an event for the Kansas City chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. My topic is one I could talk about for hours: How to Think Like a CCO (Even Without the Title).

As I was preparing for this talk, I realized that so much of what I'm sharing with that room would be helpful to you too. So today I want to bring you the heart of it! Read below.

This is a tale of two cities jobs.

In the first job, my title was Director of Communications. A restructure had eliminated all of the VP roles at the organization, so on paper it looked like a step down for me. But in that role I worked directly with the top leader, I managed a team, and I sat in on every important decision the organization made.

In the second job, I was brought in specifically as the Chief Communications Officer. I had the official title, a team of eight to ten people, and a seat at the senior leadership table.

Which job do you think I was actually functioning more like a CCO?

It was the first one, even with the lesser title.

GASP.

That experience taught me something I now say all the time: your title doesn't determine your impact. Your thinking (and attitude) does.

Thinking like a CCO means:

• You understand your organization's goals
• You have real awareness of the budget
• You see the whole picture of where your organization is headed.
• It means you don't just think about comms, even though comms is a vital and strategic function. You think about the entire organization, and when you do that, your boss notices.

But where you focus that thinking depends on where you are in your career. After working my way from social media coordinator to Chief Communications Officer, and after coaching a lot of nonprofit communicators along the way, I've found there are four stages of nonprofit comms career growth and I want you to think about where you're at in your career now. Because knowing where you are helps you know where you need to go next.

Which of the following best describes you?

• The Doer. You're the engine. Most of the tactical work runs through you, and you rarely get pulled out of execution long enough to plan.
• The Translator. You've proven you can deliver, and now you spend energy making the case that comms is strategic, not decorative.
• The Strategist. You set direction and you're trusted to lead your area.
• The CCO-Minded Leader. You already think like a CCO whether or not the title is on your door. Your challenge isn't really skill anymore. It's the isolation that comes at the top and the lack of peers who operate at your level.

Which one sounds the most like you? Hit reply and tell me. I mean it! I read every response, and knowing where you are helps me make this newsletter genuinely useful to you.

One more thing before I head out the door to give this talk. I'm building a free Nonprofit Comms Career Assessment that will go much deeper than these four descriptions, diagnosing not just your stage but the exact areas you should develop next. It comes out later this summer, and you can sign up here to be notified when it launches.

Wherever you are today in your nonprofit comms career journey, I want you to remember that nobody is going to hand you strategic influence. The communicators who end up in the room where decisions get made are the ones who started thinking like they belonged there long before anyone was inviting them in.

Happy communicating,

Former nonprofit CCO and founder of the Nonprofit Comms Club

P.S. Want a question answered in a future issue? Drop it here.​

--

​Unsubscribe · Preferences​