IR managers aspiring to a board-level position can boost their chances by applying concrete metrics to their performance and flattering the boss, according to a recent UK study.
‘The more measurable marketing activities are – and marketing embraces IR – the more they are valued by senior management,’ explains study author Roger Bennett, professor of marketing and the director of the Centre for Research in Marketing at London Metropolitan University.
Equally important is being able to ‘fit in’ with the culture and mind-set of top management. ‘People with a high degree of emotional intelligence who are skillful at ingratiation are the ones who tend to get on well within organizations,’ Bennett says. ‘Add that to expertise in financial and general business management and you have a winning combination.’
Curiously, the study, which surveyed 209 UK marketing directors in the food and beverage manufacturing sector, also discovered that none of the 35 current board members in the survey has an MBA.
