Good Leaders Know When to Listen: Ramsey Carey

Ramsey Carey started her communications career at an internship at the Goodman Theatre. “I knew I loved media relations and getting good stories out there in the world. But it became more than promoting performing arts, it was a career about creating meaning,” she said. 

Today, Ramsey Carey is a Senior Account Supervisor at Public Communications Inc. (PCI) in Chicago, specializing in nonprofit communications across social service and arts and culture sectors. We worked together at Cradles to Crayons and were awarded a Public Relations Society of America award for successfully raising awareness for the children’s clothing insecurity crisis in Chicago. We also partnered on a mural project for I Grow Chicago in Englewood to remind the public that it takes a village to raise a child and help them thrive at home, at school, and at play.

She is an amazing leader because she’s a listener before she’s an executor. She’s a follower before she’s a leader. “At a basic level, it’s just about getting people to talk. At an advanced level, communications is about navigating an evolving profession. Every generation comes in with their own set of knowledge about what communications can do for a client. As a communicator you’re required to stay open to any and all trends and digital shifts like AI and channels like @thread.” 

I can attest that comms teams wear many hats; we lead strategic planning, marketing strategies, social media, branding and design, internal communications, media relations, reputation management and crisis communications. “The role of communications is critical to organizational success, and it is often misunderstood. As communicators we often are advocating for more resources to enable us to effectively do what we do best, and it can be one of the most frustrating parts of the job. The reality is, one bad communications move can bring down an organization. It has to be prioritized.”

I carried immense pressure during the first part of my career to prove how important a communications strategy is to the success of a product, program, or service. Now I follow Ramsey’s advice: take time to listen and learn.

“It goes back to the basics of getting people to talk. You can’t have expectations for communication outcomes if you’re not clear on what those outcomes are. Good leaders and communicators know when to listen to the professionals, cherish their opinions, and then make decisions. We are wearing so many different hats, and part of the learning is knowing what hat to put on at what time.”

Everyone always feels better when they have someone who understands them and can represent their values and needs. Even if most people don’t understand how it’s done, Ramsey does.