 Do me a favor think about your best friend or friends think about how close you are with them now and the things you share with them And how much you depend on their advice and their input as you make decisions About you know things that are big and small in your life Now try and think back to when you first met that person and that wasn't the same then right you wouldn't have heard them Give you some input and then automatically just said well. I got to take this really seriously This is very meaningful to me. That's something that grew over time right that kind of trust that you developed and and their Their role as a trusted advisor and counselor in your life came over time and through building that up over the course of your relationship And the same thing is true really in public relations when we think about developing that counseling function of public relations ideally public relations will Develop in that counseling role, but that takes time So we want to talk about what it takes to get there and what that means for public relations professional to engage in that kind of counseling role at the executive level so First of all, let's take a look at the role Evolution of public relations, you know when we start out. We're just kind of on these Low-risk tasks, right? There's not much that we're doing that's going to cause much Damage or or have a huge amount of impact We're doing a lot of low-level work and low-risk things as people learn what we can do and what our strengths are and whether or not We're reliable and those types of things we got lots of low-risk tasks involved Then eventually we'll start to get more and more involved in some of these strategic functions We may be put in charge of a campaign We may be asked to serve as a spokesperson and engage in these very specific roles Within the public relations department and have a chance to to show our value and to prove ourselves in these different strategic functions But still pretty defined in terms of what we're doing It's more about do this and we're receiving orders and maybe taking charge of that particular campaign but we're not really specifically directing the The the direction of the organization. We're not steering the ship So to speak we're helping to steer the ship helping navigate or anything We're more just fulfilling the functions of public relations at that point, but over time Ideally we'll we'll grow into what we call a counselor role Which is more of that you know executive type position where we are having an impact and a say in the direction of the organization and and at the ability to look at other areas of the organization and provide input and provide guidance there and just you know help the the ultimate leaders of the organization make those decisions by Providing the input from a public relations perspective, which we know is very very important and is becoming more so Two organizations as they add more and more people in public relations to this type of role So but again, we got to grow into this role as counselor. We've got to prove ourselves We had to show What we can do to build up to that. It's like your best friend You didn't just start off as best friends with this enormous amount of trust You had to build into that and grow into that over time the same as true public relations You got to work your way through this even if you're coming in as Sort of an experienced veteran and and been highly sought after you still really have to develop that Relationship with the executives so that they can find that kind of trust in you Where your input is really going to be heard and listened to and taken seriously Even if they don't always follow your input or your advice or you know, you're still you're being heard You're you're having an impact on the direction of things So let's talk a little bit about what that role entails then what is it that we do when we're in that counseling role What are some of the things that we need to bear in mind? Well, first of all As a counselor an executive counselor in public relations, you really have to be somebody who can Get ahead of issues and not just always be working from behind Right. If we look at the curve, right and talking about being ahead of the curve Most people are in the middle of that they're right at the issue and and where it's happening right now They're happening in that moment in present times on people are just far behind But you've got to be ahead of that you've got to be able to see these things coming and and really provide input on okay This is what impact is going to have on our organization. We've done some planning around this We've done some thinking around this and here's how we ought to respond and so I would suggest we respond We think we'll have the greatest impact We've got to be ahead of these things and sort of see them coming and so maybe review our lesson on our video on on Crisis planning for example some things we can see coming some things we can't but we ought to have a plan as much as possible For these things so we can get ahead of issues and be on the front edge of things and not even in the middle Of the pack or certainly not behind As a PR counselor to as in that counseling role We have to be able to see the forest and the trees We have to be able to see these big broad issues societally and and in our industry and things but we also have to be able to see The details within our organization and how that's impacting different departments and and what we can do and how that affects public relations Then overall that's our area of course, but we've got to have an awareness of of everything both big picture and more detailed perspective So we've got to be able to see the forest and the trees not just one or the other We also have to be in touch with the pulse We have to be in touch with the pulse pulse of our Publix and the pulse of society and we have to you know have have the data. We depend heavily on our marketing Department folks and and their ability to gather data that's important to us But we have to be in touch with what's happening not only in our organization, but what's happening in the world around It's what's happening in our community that's impacting Things that and how is that impacting our organization even if it's not directly because of or due to our or Involving our organization if it affects our community then it affects us as well And if it affects our Publix then it affects us as well So we need to be in touch with what's happening in the world specifically with our organization and with our Publix But really just in general What is the pulse of society where we are where are we going and how can we get ahead of that as well and be ahead of that particular curve We have to take responsibility We have to be responsible as a council. We have to be trustworthy We have to be somebody that gets things done when they say they'll get them done and somebody who can to be depended on to be there with good advice and input and and have their ducks in her own terms of Having their knowledge base and and really knowing their stuff So we have to take responsibility for all these things We also have to take responsibility for our choices and for our input when we say something It goes wrong. We have to take responsibility for that as well as when it goes right We get we get responsibility for that as well and hopefully the positives that come with that But but we've got to take responsibility for all of it And if we're gonna we're gonna be in this type of position We've got to be the kind of person who can who can handle that We have to remember our systems principles I remember I mentioned before when I get to see the forest and the trees We've got to be in touch with the different departments But we have to remember that this principle of interdependence that exists within a system Our organization is a system everything in the organization is impacted by everything else in the organization So even if your department is really humming along, right? They're doing everything, right? You see you're going gangbusters and seeing great results in your department If another department is having issues that's going to affect your department. It's all connected, right? It's all interdependent. So we have to remember that we have to not only monitor and keep an eye on what's going on in other departments But figure out how we can be of assistance then if if somebody is struggling with something What can we do to be of assistance because it affects all of us? It's not like you know if the if the company's losing money you can't just say well, you know the PR department's doing great So it's not my fault. I'm out of here. I'm you know, this is not on me It affects everybody and so there's that old expression a rising tide lifts all ships, right? And that's true in an organization. We've got to get everybody on the rise And so we all have to pull together and as public relations person We are directly affected by every different department and involved with all these departments So we've got to remember that we are part of a system and that system is interdependent. We we Are affected by what happens with others. So we ought to be Working to make sure everybody is part of that rising tide and and feeling the effects of that and then you know Probably the hardest thing on this list is so that we have to earn the right to counsel We have to earn the right to be a council. I'm going to continuously earn that right by being Reliable by being trustworthy by being authentic and and having integrity and by developing a positive reputation Not just with the the the person in charge But with everybody in the organization and we have to show commitment to that organization and to our to our role to our tasks to our specific responsibilities and things but So all of this goes into developing our credibility and which which enhances our ability to counsel It doesn't matter what your title is if your title is you know a vice president But you're not somebody who has credibility And you haven't earned that right then your counsel will not be taken seriously You won't have the impact that you want Regardless of your title because people just won't listen to you They won't trust you So we've got to earn the right to be a counselor by being all of these things by pursuing all Of these things That ends up with enhanced credibility So the idea here is that again we become a trusted partner That's really what we're looking for here that we become more than just an employee more than just you know one other cog in the big System that that we become a trusted partner By by by being reliable by being trustworthy by by having that global look and seeing the forest in the trees and doing all Those other things we mentioned we become a trusted partner which a lot of which Earns us the right then to counsel and to provide our not only provide our input but have it be taken seriously And and have the ability to influence then the outcome again. We won't always have our Have our what we suggest taken as gospel, right? But we're going to put ourselves in a position to be heard and to be able to have an influence On the direction of things as they move forward If you have questions about the counselor role of Public relations professional or what goes into that what might be expected of someone any anything along those lines Please feel free to email me. I'd love to hear from you there and in the meantime I hope that you will yourself aspire to that role. It won't come easily again won't come immediately It's something we have to earn over time and build up to but once we have it. It's a really rewarding Position to be and to be able to help directing guide things and to just improve The the the organization to the benefit of everyone involved