For a long time, I didn’t really understand why a certification would be needed for my job as a communications professional.
Would it be required to get a job? Probably not. Would it automatically lead to promotion? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Did I need a certification to move ahead in my career? I honestly wasn’t sure.
Up until that point, I had moved steadily through my career without ever being asked to get certified. I was doing well. I was delivering results. I knew my craft, and I knew I wasn’t alone. Many communications professionals I respected were doing great work and had built solid careers with their university degrees, without formal certification.
At the same time, I couldn’t ignore that others in the field had credentials from various professional bodies, including the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) in the UK, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) in the U.S., the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS), IABC, and the Global Communication Certification Council (GCCC), among others. I started to wonder what difference, if any, a certification actually made.
I’d reached a point in my career where experience alone didn’t feel like enough anymore. I wasn’t just interested in getting the work done based on years of experience. I wanted to know if there were better, more strategic ways to deliver value for organizations, especially in complex, global environments.
That curiosity led me to learn more about the GCCC and the certifications it offers: the Communication Management Professional (CMP) and the Strategic Communication Management Professional (SCMP). Given my level of responsibility and experience, the SCMP felt like the appropriate next step.
I approached the preparation intentionally. I read, reflected, and worked through sample questions, not just to test what I knew, but to examine how I thought. When I felt ready to sit for the rigorous, three-hour, 100-question scenario-based exam, I went for it.
The SCMP assesses six core competency areas: ethics, strategy development, advising and leading, management, innovation, and reputation management.
What surprised me most was not only the content, but how the process shifted my way of thinking.
What a Certification Like SCMP Really Gives You
It shifts how you think.
Studying resources like “The IABC Guide for Practical Business Communications” and listening to experienced leaders through podcasts like the Circle of Fellows was eye-opening. I was reading about work I had been doing for over a decade, only now it was framed through global best practices, tested models, and real-world scenarios shared by senior communicators across continents.
I experienced many “aha” moments. Situations I had navigated in Canada or Nigeria closely mirrored examples from Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere. The process provided language, structure, and context for challenges many of us face, often within our own organizational silos.
When you are deep in day-to-day work, it’s easy to lose the bigger picture. Taking a certification or being part of peer communities like IABC is a bit like lifting your head out of the water. You gain perspective and are able to see how others approach similar challenges and what best practice looks like in different contexts. Then you return to your organization equipped to adapt those insights in ways that are relevant and practical.
It affirms your expertise, while also stretching it.
Most seasoned professionals already know they are capable. Their teams trust them. Their leaders rely on their judgment. Yet there is value in benchmarking yourself against global standards and peers.
It invites honest reflection:
- Am I operating at best-practice level, or simply relying on what is familiar?
- Where are my strengths, and where could I refine my approach?
- How can I provide more strategic, future-focused counsel?
It sharpens how you show up at the leadership table.
One of the biggest shifts for me was how clearly the SCMP reinforces communications as a management and advisory function, not just an executional or tactical one. It strengthens your ability to speak in the language leaders care about, including risk, outcomes, trade-offs, and value, especially in moments of uncertainty or reputational pressure.
The ethics component, in particular, gives you a framework for navigating grey areas and the confidence to push back when needed. This is something every senior communicator eventually faces.
It gives you a broader, global lens.
The GCCC operates independently and brings together communicators from many regions and sectors. That matters. It signals that your thinking is not limited to one context and that you can operate across cultures and systems, which is increasingly important in global organizations.
It’s also something leaders should encourage.
Certification is not solely an individual milestone. It is also an organizational investment. As leaders, we should be thinking about how we support the development of the communications professionals on our teams. Encouraging team members to pursue certifications like CMP or SCMP helps them grow, yes. But it also strengthens the organization.
When communicators grow into strategic thinking, ethical judgment, and advisory capability, the entire organization benefits. You build stronger counsel, better decision-making, and a more solid approach to reputation and risk management. Supporting this kind of professional development sends a clear signal that communications is valued as a leadership discipline, not just a service function.
What SCMP Certification Doesn't Do
It’s important to note that a certification doesn’t replace experience. It won’t magically turn a tactical role into a strategic one, and it won’t fix broken systems or leadership challenges on its own.
What it does do is give shape to your experience, sharpen your instincts, and help you feel more confident in the advice you give.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve ever been unsure about what the GCCC’s CMP or SCMP certifications are (or any other communications certification for that matter) and whether they’re worth the time and effort, I get it. I’ve been there.
In a profession that continues to evolve globally, a deliberate commitment to growth, reflection, and shared standards is one of the clearest signals we can offer, both to our peers and to the leaders we advise.