How to Position Yourself as a Strategic Advisor
WRITTEN BY KATIE TEST DAVIS
It’s happened to all of us as communicators: you get called into your boss’s office and are briefed on a decision that is already set in stone. You’re asked to formulate a communications plan after the path forward is decided, and you’re sprinting to play catch up. It’s a frustrating position to be in. Trust me, I know!
As communicators, we often see around the bend, and can pick up on potential roadblocks faster than our peers. Being invited to the table AFTER all the big decisions have been made can be disheartening AND make our work harder.
So how do you ensure that you are looped in early and often? Here are three suggestions to try:
Ask
This one sounds obvious, but when I ask clients or team members who I’m coaching if they asked to be included, they often stare back at me and say, “oh — well — no…”
So, hey, that’s actually kind of great news — let’s start there! Talk to your boss and ask to be more involved as decisions are evolving. They may not realize that you want to be part of the conversation, and asking could change everything. Before the conversation, make a list of times when a project or announcement would have gone more smoothly if you were involved on the front end.
Ensure that you bring a solution as well. Would you like to be included in a certain meeting? Would you like more 1:1 check ins where you talk about upcoming projects? Whatever the solution is, make sure you have it at the ready!
Share your long-term plans
Personally, I get tired of playing whack-a-mole as a communicator, and one way to prevent doing that is having a long-term communications plan for your work. This means that you’ve set long-term goals for what your communications and outreach efforts will achieve, and your work drives towards them.
The Management Center (a Forthright favorite!) has great free tools on how to map out your work under the Roles & Goals section. Creating a long-term plan for your role and your work helps leadership understand how your work is integrated into programmatic decisions and can help ensure you’re included in big-picture conversations.
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Build relationships
Part of being seen as a strategic advisor and partner is to, well, actually be one! In my career I’ve found that I’m most effective when I’m checking in early and often with my colleagues on their project.
If you hear about a project in passing, take note, and make sure you’re poking your head in (virtually or physically!) to ask about how the project is going and see how you can help. The more involved and helpful you can be on projects, the more people will want to include you as they spearhead new initiatives. SHRM has great resources for managing with influence.
Do you have any additional tips or tricks for positioning yourself as an advisor? We’d love to hear them.
