As you advance in your PR career, your skills need to evolve. Here are seven ways that ambitious PRs can distinguish themselves – and demonstrate that they're ready for leadership roles.
Progressing into a communications leader depends on your ability to strengthen your skills – you’ll need to refine how you plan campaigns, assess your impact, and change tack in response to a changing media environment.
The best PRs approach communications strategy as a discipline that develops and matures, always ensuring they’re doing these seven key things:
1. Anchor communications strategy to business strategy
Senior PRs connect their communications strategy to the wider company’s goals. That could be revenue growth, policy influence, reputation management, or market expansion.
In practice, this means:
- Translating corporate objectives into communications priorities.
- Identifying how messaging can drive customer trust, investor confidence, or stakeholder alignment.
- Working closely with leadership (CEO, CMO, sales, policy teams, HR) to understand where they are trying to go and supporting that journey.
Instead of pitching random press stories, seasoned communications teams focus on narratives that support business objectives, while reinforcing internal messaging.
“PR is a strategic function, not a service desk. The goal is to build a clear, consistent narrative – so every announcement, comment or interview reinforces the same core story. Without that, you end up with a lot of noise. With it, every piece of coverage helps build a clearer and stronger market position.”
Andrew Rieley, Head of Brand & Communications, Stephenson Harwood LLP
2. Build a clear narrative architecture
Experienced PRs structure communications around a coherent story ecosystem, not scattered announcements.
This means:
- Core brand narrative
- Key proof points and data
- Supporting campaign themes
- Consistent messaging pillars
This ensures every interview, press release, speech, and social post reinforces the same strategic story. It’s vital then too, to be able to push-back against internal stakeholders when announcements are distracting or creating white noise.
Remind colleagues of the messaging pillars and ask: “How does this help our story move forward?” This might help them to see your point of view or explain their reasoning for wanting press coverage.
“Smart business leaders align their messaging around a central theme that captures attention through stories people actually care about. By focusing on a short, punchy, and specific narrative, you cut through the information overload and ensure your brand is instantly relatable. This consistent storytelling across multiple channels builds momentum and credibility, making it easier for journalists to recognize your value and for customers to build a lasting relationship with your brand.”
Scott Johnston, Independent Communications Consultant
3. Integrate PR with marketing, policy and corporate affairs
An elevated communications strategy breaks silos. And this is crucial across the business. Greater collaboration with the communications team means more interesting stories, employee ideas, case studies and joined-up thinking and acting.
This means working with:
- Marketing
- Government affairs
- Investor relations
- Brand teams
- Internal communications
The goal is coordinated voice across campaigns, PR messaging, and corporate positioning – internally and externally.
4. Manage internal stakeholders as a strategic advisor
One of the signs you’re maturing in a communications role is that you start saying “no” just as frequently as you say “yes”.
Someone who’s considered trusted counsel does just that – provides informed, considered advice that looks at outcomes and scenarios and helps to make the next right decision. This role is often the trickiest to get right as there needs to be a careful balancing of caution with enthusiasm.
Senior communicators can feel like the office Eeyore because they have to push back so often, but they can temper this by coming up with alternative solutions that are less risky to reputation.
PR professionals who think their objective is to get coverage are missing the core of what PR is about. Coverage is the tool, not the end-outcome. Every PR decision must be driven by the ‘so what’ question which, when exploring tactics and opportunities, most often presents as “How does this support our business objectives? Why should we take up this opportunity?”If you can’t answer that question successfully, the decision on whether to do the activity should be ‘no’.
Similarly, any resulting coverage should be viewed through the lens of messaging – it’s not a binary of positive or negative press coverage. Rather, the measurement should be based on whether this coverage supports the specific narrative and business objective you identified.
Michelle, Senior Communications Advisor, Financial Services
5. Build their knowledge
The strongest PRs in the game are always reading, observing and listening. It’s about understanding the media landscape, and the role your business plays in your sector, community and more broadly. Read and listen to things you might not initially understand and be curious.
Understanding the geo-politics in the region in which you operate means you might find new angles, scopes and story pitches for your business. Think broadly – read broadly.
6. Anticipate risks to reputation
Instead of reacting to crises, senior communicators are proactive about issues management. They also scan the news horizon for business and systemic risk.
This means:
- Monitoring public narratives and political trends
- Building issue maps and scenario plans
- Preparing leadership messaging early
- Engaging stakeholders before issues escalate
- Developing internal messaging for when things go wrong
This transforms PR from a reactive function into a strategic risk advisory. And it means that cool heads are developing rational messaging, not striking out when tension and deadlines are looming.
“The ability to manage issues before they escalate is built on strong, trusted stakeholder relationships. Those relationships allow you to plan early, test assumptions and align on approach before pressure mounts. But today’s macro environment demands more than just preparation. Risks can crystallise quickly, and narratives can shift fast, so communicators need to combine forward planning with constant situational awareness.”
Stacey Willoughby, Manager, EMEA PR and Communications, Wellington Management
7. Develop a strong network
Build a broad network and use it. It’s so important for PRs in a similar sector to know each other and be able to speak freely about their experiences with particular stories, business risks and even journalists.
Networking develops trusted relationships within the community in which you’re operating. Your contacts should run the gambit of colleagues from across all levels of your business, including your competitors, journalists and anyone influencing the landscape in which you operate.
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We’re with you, every step of the way
One login. Multiple solutions.
Roxhill’s all-in-one media intelligence platform will save you time, highlight your impact, and drive your business forward.
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