"The seven highly effective Communications Director habits in the era of growing challenges and declining budgets"
12 de May de 2017
12 de May de 2017
On Thursday 27 th April, the Pontificia Universidad Católigca Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) held a special conference of its Graduates from the Master in Corporate Communication Management. After the welcome from de Roselys Arias, Postgraduate Dean, a panel discussed the challenges facing Communications Directors, with the participation of Luis José López, the Director of Communication and Corporate Matters at Cemex; Stella León, the Partner and Chairwoman of Engage Burson-Marsteller and Miguel Ángel Violán, a professor at EAE Business School.
Miguel Ángel Violán gave an overview of seven of the habits que that the figure of Communications Director must have if they want to be highly effective, highlighting the fact that, in the 3.0 age, "the challenges are growing while the budgets are declining". The professor analysed each habit, what it involves and contributes, starting with a sense of the current situation, with respect to which he underlined a rich diet of different media, ensuring informational nutrition and a diverse range of colours, aromas and flavours".
Other habits required of the Communications Director 3.0 include relating everything to everything else, a multicultural approach and digital proficiency, without overlooking the human touch, being profound and rigorous. Miguel Ángel Violán also referred to soft skills, underlining leadership and willpower. To bring this set of habits to a close, the professor emphasized the importance of perseverance, "past successes do not guarantee future successes.".
Luis José López Mena, a lecturer at Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, completed the panel after Miguel Ángel Violán's presentation, in which he discussed the challenges of Communications Directors in the 3.0 age. "The great challenge facing todays organizations is carefully managing factors such as the real and permanent concern for responsibility, covering functional and emotional motivations, interpreting and achieving a sense of pride in belonging".
The age of communication 3.0 has arrived due to the internet, a burning issue that was extremely present at the event held at the Santo Domingo Campus (Dominican Republic). "Communications Directors 3.0 face the fundamental challenge of creating and managing institutional communication policies in a digital environment", explained Luis José López, stressing that it was not enough simply to hire a community manager, but rather it is crucial to have a 'comprehensive communication strategy'.
The speakers at the round table also discussed how the need for companies and business to communicate plays a strategic role in achieving objectives. "Talking about who we are is no long good enough, we have to embody what we stand for", added Stella León, the Founding Partner of Engage Burson-Marsteller.