Download Global Study Reveals Digital, Gender, Generational and Skills Shifts

Presenters
Bruce Berger, Ph.D., University of Alabama; Keith Burton, Brunswick Group; Gary McCormick, APR &
Fellow PRSA, HGTV; and Prof. Maria Russell, APR & Fellow, PRSA, Syracuse University
Session Description
In 2012 the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations at the University of Alabama completed the
largest study of leadership in the field, surveying 4,500 professionals in nine languages in 23 countries to
identify key issues in the field, learn how leaders manage them, gain insights about the development of
future leaders, and capture perceptions about organizational culture, gender and the profession. Key
findings highlight the scope of the digital revolution, gender and generational differences, and the
growing need for self-insights and soft skills in future leaders. The panel reviews findings in these four
areas and assesses their implications for PR practice, education and leadership development.
Demographics of the Study
Twenty-three countries in Asia, Europe, Middle East, and North and South America participated in the
survey, including 8 of the 10 largest economies: Brazil, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Russia, UK, and
US. Overall, study participants were highly educated (60% graduate degrees); experienced (65% with >
11 years); and leaders (74% held the #1 or #2 position). More women (2,318 or 51.7%) than men (2,165
or 48.3%) participated, though this varied greatly by country.
Four Key Findings and Storylines
1. The digital revolution transforms practice and leaders worldwide. The first part is old news, but the
emerging story is how this transformation affects the roles, vision and strategic decisions of public
relations leaders. As this table indicates, nearly two-thirds of participants rated four issues as most
important, three of them linked to the digital revolution. The sense making role of leaders—translating
massive information and opportunity flows into meaning and action—is crucial.
What’s the Most Important Issue for Leaders Today?
(n=4,483)
Issue
Frequency
1. Dealing with the speed and volume of information flow
1029
2. Managing the digital revolution and rise of social media
684
3. Improving the measurement of communication effectiveness
547
4. Being prepared to effectively deal with crises that may arise
532
5. Dealing with growing demands for transparency
375
6. Improving employee engagement and commitment
354
7. Finding, developing and retaining top talent
337
8. Meeting demands for corporate social responsibility
274
9. Meeting communication needs in diverse cultures
239
10. Improving the image of the profession
112
Percent
23.0
15.3
12.2
11.9
8.4
7.9
7.5
6.1
5.3
2.5
2. Soft skills and self-insights are the Holy Grail of future leaders. Participants said consistently that
mastery of soft skills is vital to improving PR leaders for an uncertain future. The three highest rated of 12
development approaches were strengthening change management (5.67/7.0), listening (5.51) and conflict
management skills (5.51). More widely publicized systemic changes such as accreditation (3.90) and
enforcement of ethics codes (4.51) were considered far less important. Factor analysis revealed two key
development factors: individual or software approaches, and systemic or hardware approaches.
Individual approaches—Software
1. Improve listening skills
2. Enhance emotional intelligence
3. Enhance conflict management skills
4. Increase cultural understanding, sensitivity
5. Strengthen change management skills
6. Improve skills to manage stress
Systemic approaches--Hardware
1. Require professional accreditation or licensing
2. Develop a global education curriculum
3. Impose tough penalties on ethical violators
4. Develop better measures to document PR value
5. Urge associations to work together to develop leaders
6. Strengthen business component of PR education
3. Men and women: Same destination, different journey. The practice was more than 90% male 50
years ago, but today it’s 70% female in the US, Brazil, Hong Kong and elsewhere, and women are
ascending in greater numbers to leadership positions. Our survey suggests that women and men view
leadership, and the possibilities and processes of becoming a leader, somewhat differently. In the study:
Women rated significantly higher than men
Men rated significantly higher than women
--8 of the top 10 issues
--Desire to be a leader & self-perception as a leader
--All 7 dimensions of leadership
--Presence of 2-way communication in company
--All 12 development approaches
--Performance of chief communication officer
--The future of the profession
--Extent to which CEO values PR
4. The future of PR is all about me, me, me! Millennials are now the workforce majority, and they bring
somewhat different beliefs, values and expectations to the workplace. Our survey provides some evidence
of generational differences that appear to cross national borders.
Millennials (< 36 years) rated significantly higher
Older workers rated significantly higher
--Importance of improving professional image
--Listening skills and cultural understanding
--Need to improve measurement of PR
--Presence of 2-way communication in company
--8 of 12 development approaches
--Performance of chief communication officer
--Value of education for profession
--Value of role models for profession
--Future of the profession
--Extent to which CEO values PR
Communication Leadership in the Future
The profound transformation in the field reaches beyond the digital revolution and places greater demands
on our future leaders. This is an important challenge because current organizational conditions for
excellent leadership can be improved. The leadership index combines ratings for 2-way communication,
performance of the PR leader, and CEO support of PR by country/region. A perfect score would be 21.0;
the average mean score was 14.49. In short, there’s lots of room for improving leadership in PR.
The Summated Leadership Index
Country/Region
India
Mexico
Chinese-speaking countries
United States
German-speaking countries
Latvia/Estonia
United Kingdom
Spain
Chile
Russia
South Korea
Brazil
Total
Number
140
213
143
828
1773
142
139
210
156
215
205
302
4,466
Mean
16.44
15.31
14.87
14.76
14.62
14.60
14.42
14.39
14.00
13.56
13.37
13.09
14.49
S.D.
4.26
4.55
4.29
4.47
4.07
3.96
4.89
4.89
4.51
4.59
2.14
4.61
4.26
http://plankcenter.ua.edu/