4 unwritten commandments of the corporate communicator

Corporate communicators have a legion of responsibilities. Everything from executive communications to media relations to employee communications falls under their umbrella.

Corporate communicators must be good writers. They must be able to hold and lead a meeting. They must have good interpersonal skills. And they must be able to work well alone—and in a team.

We know this because it is well documented. We talk about it in IABC and PRSA. We read about it on blogs and in industry publications.

But, we talk very little about the unwritten laws that govern our profession, those commandments that let us do our work and do it well.

I’ve come up with four unwritten commandments I believe play a key role for every corporate communicator.

1. Thou shalt always keep executive admins happy.

The corporate communicator’s most important partners are the chief executive, the CFO, and SVPs, also known as “executive row.” These are your spokespeople, and they are also important sources of information. So, it’s key you have unfettered (or relatively unfettered) access to these people. Enter the administrative assistant. Maintaining open, solid relationships with these people is ESSENTIAL.