Over the past thirty-odd years, I’ve worked alongside some of the world’s top communications professionals in just about every setting imaginable — from big, Mad Men–style agencies to small, tech-focused boutiques to some of the world’s largest and most iconic companies. The clients change. The people change. But the qualities that define great communicators don’t. What stands out among the best of the best is a shared DNA in how they operate.
I’m not talking about people who are good on stage. I’m talking about people who shape how institutions are understood.
The brains and guts of the strongest comms pros are different than most people in their organizations. They live inside the company but see it from the outside: through the eyes of journalists, analysts, competitors, customers, regulators, and critics.
The qualities they possess are observable. And once you’ve seen them at work, they’re hard to unsee.
Perception: How They See
1. They see trends and signals earlier than others
They have really strong pattern recognition. They notice weak signals before they harden into headlines. While others are reacting to what’s already obvious, elite communicators are tracking the edges — the anomalies, the shifts in tone, the unexpected adjacencies. They see the trend before the trend report.
2. They have an innate sense of signal versus noise
They know what will trend versus what will be a blip. They can distinguish between genuine inflection points and temporary turbulence. They weight information instinctively, understanding context, source credibility, and momentum. In an age of infinite information, this filtering capacity is worth its weight in gold.
3. They are news junkies
It’s a compulsion. They read, watch, and listen to everything they can. Fiction, non-fiction, news, gossip…doesn’t matter. They can’t turn it off. They cannot help but consume, connect, and contextualize.
4. They are deeply engaged with their organization’s community
They know influence requires proximity. They spend time with the people they speak for and about, learning the context, the language, the tensions, and the unwritten rules. They connect people who should know each other and ideas that are complementary.
Synthesis: How They Think
5. They make connections others struggle to find
They are pathologically curious. They connect dinner conversation to market dynamics to historical precedent without trying. Their minds naturally cross-reference: a customer complaint reminds them of a competitive pattern, which recalls a regulatory shift, which suggests a narrative opportunity. Their knowledge base is unusually broad and weirdly interconnected.
6. They think three steps after the action
They don’t think in actions; they think in chains of consequence. If this story lands, what will it enable others to say next? They map the second-order and third-order effects while everyone else is still celebrating the first-order win. They see how today’s press release constrains next quarter’s positioning. They understand that every announcement is also an invitation — to competitors, to critics, to copycats — and they anticipate the response before sending the invitation.
7. They operate effectively in ambiguity
They’re comfortable in the fog. They counsel on limited information and instinct because complete data rarely exists.
8. They see their organizations from the outside-in
They are like human LIDAR, constantly scanning and absorbing signals. They look at the company as the outside world would, not employees. They can hold both “we believe in this company” and “here’s how a skeptical journalist will frame this” in their minds simultaneously. They are the organization’s common sense.
Narrative: How They Shape Meaning
9. They write masterfully
They know clear writing reflects clear thinking and clear strategy. They believe every word matters. They abhor corporate jargon and buzzwords. They can craft a compelling story in 160 characters or 5,000 words with equal skill.
10. They are master storytellers
They communicate in stories, not messages. They believe every organization has a Hollywood blockbuster waiting to get out. They understand story arcs, protagonists, villains. They read and watch and listen voraciously, constantly studying how great narratives actually work.
Judgment & Restraint: How They Protect the Enterprise
11. They are pessimistic optimists
They are inherently paranoid while looking for the silver lining. They game out how things could go wrong. The joke that doesn’t land. The claim that gets challenged. The announcement that triggers the opposite reaction. That defensive imagination is what makes their optimism trustworthy.
12. They remain calm under pressure
They are the human behind “company spokesperson said.” When everything around them is hair-on-fire, they slow the room. They separate stress response from decision-making with eerie consistency. They know what matters, what can wait, and what absolutely must or cannot be said.
Mike Maney 