This new series will feature career advice from IPR ELEVATE Members. IPR ELEVATE is a diverse and select membership community of high-performing innovators and catalysts for growth, change, and advancement who support the mission and insights-focused work of IPR.
David Kochman is a senior communicator and strategic thinker with over 20 years of corporate, agency, and political experience creating award-winning communications. He is recognized for strategy development, big-picture thinking, and understanding the intersection of politics, policy, and business. A trusted leader who counsels and advises CEOs and executive teams on industry issues, reputational threats, and opportunities. Strong ability to build teams, grow external and internal relationships, and recruit and retain top-performing employees. He has experience in reputation building, issue management, launching data-driven programs, navigating crises, and team leadership. He was named a 2020 Health Care Communicator of the Year by Ragan & PR Daily.
What have been the biggest success factors in your career?
Relationships, and a willingness to speak up with questions and ideas. Strong, trusting relationships are critical in so many ways, beyond the obvious connection to job opportunities. Having strong relationships with your colleagues, bosses, or clients is fundamental to performing at a high level, navigating through tough times, and enjoying the day-to-day aspect of your work.
New or young team members are often afraid to speak up with ideas and questions. But this is a great way to learn and deepen your engagement, and to demonstrate how communicators can play a key role as strategic advisors.
What mistakes did you make early on in your career?
It took me a while to learn how to recognize and adapt to different styles of leadership. For example, some leaders welcome open debate, others prefer disagreements to be resolved quietly, while others aren’t open to much pushback at all. Recognizing the difference will shape how you problem-solve at work and could impact where you want to work.
What advice do you have for someone new to the industry?
Try to get as many diverse experiences as you can. Think about where you might work. Corporate communications, agency life, non-profit work, and political campaigns all offer learning opportunities, and different pros/cons. Try as many as you can. You’ll learn different skills and learn even more about what kind of work you like.
It’s also important to try different types of communication before deciding whether to specialize. This could include media relations, social media, executive communications, internal comms, and more. Even when I’m hiring a specialist, I want them to be able to connect the dots across all communications opportunities.