When people ask me what they should look for in a communications consultant, I say “is his name Matt Davis?”
🥸
But there’s more to it. Let me tell you an illustrative story.
My friend Russ was staying this week and was about to take some laundry over to a friend’s house while he hung out there. I told him not to, that this is New York, and he’d make a better impression on his friends if he showed up with a gift. We had a long back and forth on it, and I guilted him into following my advice. I took his laundry to the wash-and-fold place on the corner and he had a pleasant hang with his buddies. At one point, Russ suggested asking his friends what THEY thought. But I told him, “Russ, what on earth makes you think they’d tell you the truth?”
More likely, I said, they’ll say to each other afterwards what a considerate friend Russ must have. But there are things people don’t tell you, unless you ask. And even then, you’re best off intuiting. Because they’re still unlikely to risk conflict by telling you what they do think. You need someone who cares enough about you and your reputation to tell you the truth, regardless.
A long story, I know. But THIS is the skill you need to look for when you’re hiring a communications consultant. It’s the ability to tell you when your dirty laundry is best off taken elsewhere. And to do so with tact. So that you don’t make mistakes which lead to your reputation suffering. But also, it’s important that you’re able to take the advice without taking it on a personal level. Because if you’re not, then you won’t hear more such honest advice in the future. And then, you’re risking your reputation, long-term.
I’ll put it another way. One of my clients is advertising for a hire this week and put this under the “desirable qualities”, which I like. “An inquisitive mind with a healthy resistance to dogma,” they wrote. And they’ll be “willing to offer and receive direct feedback.”
That seems to strike the right balance. You don’t want to hire a “yes man”, or yes person. But likewise you don’t want to hire somebody too stubborn and set in their ways.
As a communications consultant, it’s a line I have to walk with all my clients. If I say yes to all their communications ideas, then the journalists we pitch will say, “this emperor is nude.” And then the client will ask me why we didn’t get any press coverage or engage any audiences. But if I tell them all their ideas are rubbish, then I risk turning into Dr. No.
It’s something I’ve written about on LinkedIn and usually sours a working relationship!
The thing is, the fulcrum on that see-saw does move around a bit. If there’s been upheaval recently like a new senior hire, for example. Then I’m careful to gage their perception of their own communications prowess. If it’s off, then I can get into trouble. And the crossfire can be risky as new hires assert themselves with leadership. Particularly for consultants. I’ve learned the hard way to tend more towards flattery in the early stages of a dynamic like that. Being a man in an industry where the stereotypical consultant tends to be a woman can also have its risks, there. People tend to weigh my words more because of latent sexism. So it can be important to be careful when I’m delivering criticism. I don’t want to risk the perception that I’m throwing my weight around. But. It’s also important that my clients don’t show up at anybody’s house with their dirty laundry. Hence the judgment of where to put the fulcrum on the see-saw. This is delicate stuff and I’ve learned that one or two mistakes in a row can be costly. If I’m honest, it’s also impossible to ever get it right, every time. So one has to be good at adjusting.
One thing I’ve learned is that most people hire a communications consultant a bit like they’d hire an accountant. They tend to think they could do the work themselves if they put the effort in. And that’s true, in most cases. There aren’t many things I do which can’t be self-taught. I’m not a heart surgeon! From shooting and editing film to delivering newsletter templates. But you hire an accountant because you want somebody experienced who isn’t going to mess things up. You see the downside risk. And it’s the same with communications. I can often judge how much a client prioritizes their communications, like this. If they think they can do it themselves, then they are less likely to think it matters a great deal. And they are likely to undervalue it. Likewise, if they see and acknowledge the risk of hiring a yes-man to do all that work? Then we’re more likely to be on the same page.
Here’s to finding the right place for your fulcrum on that see-saw!
I’m off for the rest of August and back to writing these weekly updates in the first week of September. Have a great summer. Meantime, here are some other comms things I enjoyed this week and want to share:
1. Helen Reynolds asked people to share tough job questions for social media hires. The comments are insightful.
2. It’s not alright for editors to make jokes about the targeting of an ethnic group. This is an excellent piece by one of the delegates at Refugee Congress and worth a read. They submitted it to the publication with the editor concerned, who declined to run it. How sad.
3. The Dart Center for Trauma Informed Journalism issued a style guide. It includes evidence-informed guidance on news choices. And some excellent writing about the physiology of burnout.
4. The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty on BBC Select is a fascinating documentary series. It argues that Fox Corp doesn’t behave often enough in the public interest. And it examines Rupert Murdoch’s reasons for his choices in the Brexit vote and 2016 election. They’re not exactly positive.
Remember: You’re doing great work, you’ve got this, and everything is going to be okay.
Matt
