Top leaders in public relations rate their performance much more highly than their followers, a new survey reveals. Women in PR rate leaders lower than men. Women also tend to feel less trust in their organization and its culture, and have less job satisfaction, according to the Report Card on PR Leaders, from the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations and Heyman Associates.
Leaders gave themselves an “A-,” while followers gave them a “C+.” Leaders received higher marks for ethical orientation and involvement in strategic decision-making but earned lower grades for their vision, relationship-building skills and team leadership capabilities.
A Gap the Size of the Grand Canyon
“Leaders may often rate their performance higher than their employees, but statistically the gap is Grand-Canyon sized,” the report states.
“Social tensions in our world today have likely exacerbated these issues. We need to be bigger leaders to close these gaps,” stated Bill Heyman, CEO and president of Heyman Associates.
Overall leadership performance of PR executives declined since its last survey in 2015, the report says. While PR earned passing grades in leadership performance, job engagement, trust in the organization, work culture and job satisfaction, overall performance fell from B- to C+.
“This gap doesn’t necessarily mean leaders are ineffective,” said co-investigator, Juan Meng, Ph.D., University of Georgia. “Employees may be upset about other issues in their lives or unhappy with a recent assignment. But closing the gap is important because leaders influence all other issues in our study.”
Nearly 1,200 PR leaders and professionals in the U.S. recently completed the survey.
Trust in the organization again received the lowest grade and was an issue at all levels. Professionals trusted their organization’s capabilities to compete successfully and achieve its goals, but expressed less trust in their organizations to keep promises and to be concerned about employees when making important decisions. Women were much less trusting of their organizations, especially regarding the value of their concerns and opinions in decision making.
How to Address Crucial Gaps
The Plank Center recommends that PR leaders rely less on “transmission mode” and more on “reception mode” when communicating with employees. It suggests more power sharing, better two-way communications, and enhanced interpersonal skills in team work, such as active listening and conflict management skills. In addition, leaders can develop a climate in which employees can speak up without fear of reprisal. .
Other surveys have revealed a pay gap between men and women that increases as they progress through their careers. Men earned an average of $120,000 compared to $84,000 for women, according to the 2017 PRWeek/Bloom, Gross & Associates Salary Survey.
Pay Boosts Satisfaction
Even if PR pros don’t express tremendous confidence in their leadership, that survey indicates that most feel satisfied with their jobs.
Most PR pros (57%) agreed they are well compensated, few (3%) believe their job is at risk due to economic conditions, and most (65%) would decline taking a pay cut or salary freeze at another company in favor of job security. In addition, more employers are offering perks like additional vacation time and freedom to work from anywhere.
Bottom Line: A new survey uncovers large differences in how PR leaders and their staffs rate leadership performance. Better two-way communications and interpersonal skills and more power sharing could help PR executives improve employees’ perception of their leadership skills. That could lead to improved morale and greater trust in the organization.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
