I’ve been going through some research from 2025 on what actually builds confidence in comms careers, and one thing surprised me. It’s not years of experience. It’s two specific moves.

We asked 200+ comms professionals to rate their own skills across a bunch of areas. When you look at how those scores change as people move up, the jumps aren’t steady. They cluster at two points: becoming a manager, and becoming a director.

Going from Specialist to Manager, people’s self-rated capability jumps 0.35 points. Manager to Director, another 0.31. For context, most other transitions barely move the needle. So the thing that seems to actually build confidence isn’t putting in time. It’s taking on people management.

If you’re a few years into your career and feeling stuck, this is worth sitting with. The lever isn’t waiting for your next review cycle, it’s asking or taking on people responsibility.

Reflecting on my career, I have to admit that I used club and volunteer roles to move into leadership. By the time, I interviewed for my first ‘real’ leadership role in my late 20s, I remember telling the hiring manager that if I could engage and inspire people to deliver results who aren’t getting paid, leading those who are will not be a problem. He laughed AND he hired me. My salary jumped 55% and I was so in shock after signing the contract right away that I ran a red light on the way home.

I’m curious if this tracks with your own experience….the confidence and leadership part…not the traffic violation. 😊

By the way…2026 Benchmark will be out soon so I would love to have more comms pros participate.