Standing Firm: Independence in PR
It takes courage to put yourself out there, and this is especially true when it comes to speaking out about ethics-related issues. Public relations practitioners are tasked with being a guiding light for independent thinking that leads to principled recommendations.
To explore this concept further, the PRSA Board of Ethics and Professional Standards (BEPS) hosted a discussion around independence—the latest in their Ethics Outreach webinar series on the core professional values of PRSA members.
The PRSA Member Statement of Professional Values includes the following on independence:
We provide objective counsel to those we represent. We are accountable for our actions.
Unsurprisingly, what independence looks like in practice can vary based on a practitioner’s position and the topic at hand. The three webinar participants offered up their perspective on the role of independence and shared examples from their careers. Here are some key comments and takeaways from the panelists:
Roy Reid, APR, CPRC, Executive Director of Communications – Advent Health (LinkedIn)
At the core of independence is where we get to speak into how organizations can put the value and importance of relationships at the top of the list. When there are so many competing interests within an organization on what to attend to first, our voice gets to ring in and say you can’t forget about the people.
The last 18 months have been a great experience for exercising this particular part of our ethics. One of the things I’m proud of is a lot of the work we did with and for the CEO in the space of both trying to take care of our team members during the pandemic—providing and making sure that we were living up to our own service standards (to keep me safe, love me, make it easy and own it) with every decision that was made from acquiring PPE and taking care of our front-line workers to caring for our community.
Every time we produced an internal piece that we were sharing with team members our CEO would share it on his LinkedIn account as well—providing people in the communities we serve and others in that space of thought leadership with the things Advent Health was doing to both combat what was happening on the medical side of things but also staying engaged and doing the things we needed to do to care for folks inside and outside of our organization.
Having license to speak in and speak up is important. Another attribute that’s critical here is being candid and transparent in everything that we do. It’s one thing to speak truth to power, then it’s another to live consistently in the way you’re advising them to do that. That transparency is important for validating the kind of behavior we want the people that employ us to do.
Karen Swim, APR, Founder – Words for Hire and President – Solo PR Pro (LinkedIn)
I love that we are called to provide objective counsel. What is objectivity? It means that it’s not influenced by your personal opinion. That can be very difficult when the issues are very personal. We’ve been operating in an environment where our culture is very opinionated about things and not afraid to share those opinions, but its also created a lot of division and conflict.
For me, having that foundation and structure of knowing that as a strategic counselor my job is not to be opinionated; it’s to utilize my expertise and my knowledge to give clients the absolute best counsel possible. Sometimes that means it’s not what I feel, it’s not necessarily my opinion, but I always think of their audience. I think of their mission, their values. I am able to take “me” out of the equation, and so I always say, “this is bigger than me.” It’s not about me personally; it’s about serving others.
I truly believe ethics is something that happens from the board room to the basement. It’s not just words; you have to live it. You have to have a systematic structure around it to protect it. You have to nurture it. You have to cultivate it. You have to have open dialogue so that people are able to alert you, they feel comfortable challenging something that they see as an ethical red flag. It drives you to be a better practitioner when you’re truly using this framework.
Mickey G. Nall, Professional in Residence – College of Journalism and Communications, Dept. of Public Relations, University of Florida (LinkedIn)
Independence equals objectivity. Do all that you can. Do the right thing. Intuition, or gut reaction plays a role in our work. If it feels wrong, it’s probably wrong. You don’t have to go real deep there. You need to stop, assess, and move forward.
Working on the BP Oil Spill Crisis
As long as I could sit the meetings and speak truthfully and from the heart and the head, I was able to, within my own personal ethics, to feel comfortable working with them. For me, my independence was about being objective and honest and open and verbal. I didn’t have to say no, but I did have to say, if you want me to be a part of this, I’m good to go, and you’ll have to accept me the way that I am.
What does independence mean to you? What has it looked like in your career? Let us know in the comments.
