When looking for ways to advance your career and transition into leadership roles, it can be daunting to think about which online degrees to pursue.
Different managerial roles require different sets of skills or have particular emphases.
How do you determine which degree will best fit your career goals?
If you are someone thinking about going back to school to pursue leadership and management training there are two degrees that could be the right fit for you: organizational leadership and strategic communication.
Before deciding which one to go for, it’s important to dive into what they are and the main differences between them.
What is Strategic Communication?
According to Oxford Bibliographies, strategic communication is “an umbrella term to describe the activities of disciplines including public relations, management communication, and advertising.”
Over the years, the field has expanded to include the study of “purposeful” communication in non-profit organizations, governmental institutions, healthcare, and education.
Strategic communication is just that: it focuses on devising the best strategies for effective communication.
According to a Forbes article titled “Five Components of A Successful Strategic Communications Plan”, strategic communication equips professionals in devising the proper strategies for communication that can help the business, organization, or company reach its goals. It also involves coming up with the proper processes that would help achieve these goals.
Communication as a general degree can equip you with many skills, namely:
- Effective public speaking skills
- Interpersonal relationship building in the workplace
- Writing skills
- Presenting
- Event Planning
- Marketing
- Networking, and more.
Strategic communication adds the element of leadership to the communication field because you’ll learn how to manage the communication process in a company or organization, rather than simply executing daily communication tasks.
What is Organizational Leadership?
Organizational leadership is a field that deals with the everyday management of operations, teams, and employees.
Rather than having to focus on an overarching big picture, organizational leadership teaches how to properly manage teams so as to successfully execute the strategy devised by a company or organization’s leadership.
Any strategy that an organizational leader may have to come up with sits within the scope of helping their team execute their tasks in the best way possible. It also involves creating strategies that would help manage interpersonal relationships among employees.
The U.S. News World Report states that organizational leadership “involves the various individual and social contexts that shape the way people work and interact with one another, as well as strategies and techniques for motivating and encouraging individuals within a workplace setting.”
Most companies will not use “organizational leader” as a title. Usually, the role will have the title of manager or director.
Some traits organizational leaders typically display include:
- Problem-solving skills
- Good decision-making
- Clear communication ability
- Listening skills
- Inclusivity and a desire to create a safe environment for employees
- Goal-oriented
Organizational leadership skills can be applied to various fields such as health care, nonprofits, education, and government institutions among others.
__________
Who are you called to be?
Pursue your purpose at PLNU.
__________
What are the Differences and Similarities Between Organizational Leadership and Strategic Communication?
There are many differences and similarities between organizational leadership and strategic communication.
The Similarities Between Organizational Leadership and Strategic Communication
Both organizational leadership and strategic communication skills equip professionals for leadership roles. Both require excellent communication skills in order to properly manage people as well as communicate strategies and goals.
You need problem-solving skills and the ability to anticipate future issues that may come up. Finally, both require an ability to manage and reconcile the needs and expectations of various stakeholders.
The Differences Between Organizational Leadership and Strategic Communication
The emphasis for both fields is different. Organizational leadership can be applied to almost any company or organization in any field.
Although strategic communication has a wide array of applications, it is generally confined to communication or media-related roles such as public relations, social media management, marketing, and digital marketing roles, among others.
Strategic communications professionals deal with big-picture strategies like goals, vision, and the processes that would help the company accomplish those goals. It does involve working with people, but it isn’t so much about managing teams.
Organizational leadership is much more people-focused and all about ensuring that daily operations go well and that people are able to do their jobs effectively and in a safe environment.
What are the Possible Career Paths for Organizational Leadership?
There are many career paths one can pursue with an organizational leadership degree.
Here are a few, with information provided by The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Human Resources
Median salary: $126,230 as of May 2021.
Education requirements: Bachelor’s degree
Projected percent employment increase from 2021 to 2031: 8%
According to the bureau, human resources managers “plan, coordinate, and direct the administrative functions of an organization.”
It is a very people-focused field that requires training in leadership and management.
Administrative services and facilities managers
Median salary: $100,170 for administrative services managers and $97, 930 for facilities managers as of May 2021.
Education requirements: Bachelor’s degree
Projected percent employment increase from 2021 to 2031: 7%
In this role, administrative services and facilities managers help “plan, coordinate and direct the administrative functions of an organization.”
Sales managers
Median salary: $127,490 as of May 2021
Education requirements: Bachelor’s degree
Projected percent employment increase from 2021 to 2031: 5%
Sales managers help direct sales teams.
Financial Managers
Median salary: $131,710 as of May 2021
Education requirements: Bachelor’s degree
Projected percent employment increase from 2021 to 2031: 17%
Financial managers create financial reports and manage investments for businesses, organizations, and institutions.
There are many more career paths you could take with an organizational leadership online degree, including roles in education, health care, and nonprofits.
To see the complete U.S. Bureau Labor of Statistics list for management occupations, click here.
What are the Possible Career Paths for Strategic Communication?
Strategic communication offers professionals a wide array of options for a career
Social Media Managers
Median salary: $56,701
Education requirements: Bachelor’s degree
Projected percent employment increase from 2021 to 2031: 10%
Social media managers create online content to help promote a company’s or organization’s activities, services, or products. Managing social media requires strategic skills in that it helps define a company’s branding and marketing strategy online.
Public Relations Specialists
Median salary: $71,267
Education requirements: Bachelor’s degree
Projected percent employment increase from 2021 to 2031: 8%
Public relations managers create communication strategies to help a company or organization maintain a positive public image.
SEO manager
Median salary: $71,102
Education requirement: Bachelor’s degree
Projected percent employment increase from 2021 to 2031: 10%
SEO managers help make sure that a company’s digital message is enhanced and easily searchable in search engines on the internet.
Research Analyst
Median salary: $61,044
Education requirement: Bachelor’s degree
Projected percent employment increase from 2021 to 2031: 19%
Research analysts examine data, analyze it to see how effective it is in helping a company reach its communication goals, and help create strategies to increase communication effectiveness.
How do I know which one is right for me?
One way to know which degree would be right for you to pursue is to think about how your personality may fit into each role.
If you are someone who enjoys strategic thinking and problem-solving your personality may be apt for a strategic communication job.
According to Indeed, personality types like INTJ (Introversion, Intuition, Thinking, Judging), are well-suited for jobs that require any type of strategic planning. These individuals find satisfaction in working through complex issues and function well with structured planning.
This doesn’t mean that you have to be that exact personality type in order to succeed in strategic communication, but if you find joy in solving problems and like to think strategically then strategic communications may be the right fit for you.
If you are a people person and enjoy building and managing interpersonal relationships from a leadership position, then perhaps organizational leadership is the right way to go.
As a leader you’ll have to manage people’s needs and expectations and be passionate about helping people achieve their goals, motivating them to work to the best of their ability. This requires a knowledge of people and how they work, a dedication to inclusivity and the creation of a safe environment for your team members.
Take the Next Step
Accelerated undergraduate programs at PLNU offer great options for working professionals who’d like to obtain their bachelor’s degree in various fields, including organizational leadership and strategic communication.
Both programs offer 100% online options that give students flexibility and can accommodate all types of lifestyles.
You can complete either program at your own pace. The strategic communication online degree, in particular, can be completed in as little as 15 months.
You can find all the information you need for each program in the links below.