Think Thursday Replay: Everything You Wanted to Know About Becoming a CCO But Were Too Afraid to Ask

Truth Telling, Peer Networks and the Modern Executive Journey

The modern Chief Communications Officer is actively steering the business enterprise. Moving into the C-suite means letting go of daily task execution such as media management to focus on uniting different departments around shared business goals. Page Future Leaders Experience cohort alum Brittany Straughn, CCO at Manulife and John Hancock, and Jenna McMullin, CCO at Lockheed Martin convened to explore this dynamic career transition. The two speakers detailed the realities of joining the executive leadership team, noting that communicators are increasingly expected to act as cross-functional connectors and candid advisors to the business. Navigating a fast-moving information ecosystem requires new executives to establish immediate trust while balancing internal culture and external public affairs.

 Key Takeaways

• Integrate Your Audiences: The historical boundary between government affairs and corporate communications is rapidly dissolving. Companies are merging these distinct teams to ensure what they say to employees aligns with what they tell lawmakers. This cultural shift requires communicators to view regulators and government officials as primary audiences that demand just as much strategic focus as media or investors.
• Shift from Tactical and Local to Global and Strategic: Stepping into the top communications job means stepping back from tactical execution to focus on guiding the people who do the daily work. Leaders must transition to an enterprise-wide perspective where success means creating a healthy environment for specialized team members to thrive. Executives manage this by balancing a wide spectrum of responsibilities, staying broad across global issues while retaining the ability to dive deep on specific problems at a moment's notice.
• Prioritize Data-Informed Nuance Over Data-Driven Metrics: While business leaders frequently demand measurable impact, communicators must shift from tracking volume metrics to evaluating outcome-based impact. True value comes from establishing a clear narrative through data-informed decisions. Engineering teams must be strictly data-driven, but communications still requires human nuance and strategic judgment calls to reach the exact right person at the right time, even if the data might not overwhelmingly align with those choices.
• Cultivate  External Peer Networks: The top communications seat can be an isolating position. Executives who have external peer networks can access a vital and valuable support system. Maintaining informal text chains with fellow professionals in different industries provides a safe space for candid feedback, objective evaluation and sharing best practices that cannot always be discussed internally, while helping to prevent executive isolation.

Prove It With Action

• Unite the Narrative: Align cross-functional partners by breaking down the traditional barriers between internal and external communications teams. Evaluate internal and external audiences with a unified strategy, as any internal memo or operational issue can easily reach the public.
• Elevate Your Team’s Business Acumen: Empower your team to develop deep financial fluency. Ensure communicators across every business line understand corporate revenue models and financial risks, moving past the traditional view that financial communications only sit at the corporate level.
• Experiment with Artificial Intelligence: Audit your internal communication methods to find strategic applications for artificial intelligence. Move beyond using large language models solely for first drafts and explore ways to personalize colleague messaging, such as deploying internal automated avatars to reach audiences in more dynamic formats.

Strategic Resources

• The Revenge of the Publicists: How Comms Execs Stormed the C-Suite: A recent Wall Street Journal article on the evolving role of communications provides executives with helpful context regarding the modern expectations placed upon leaders at the executive table.
• The C-Suite Perspective: Reviewing this article offers leaders a look into how executives handle pressure and drive change, providing potential insights into maintaining composure during high stakes situations.
• The Expanding Role of the CCO and How to Manage the Mandate: Exploring this piece provides executives with helpful context on operating horizontally across business units and managing the increasingly complex mandate of modern reputational risk.