Reputation, Trust and the Women Doing the Work Behind the Scenes

As part of a recent CommPRO and CommunicationsMatch™ virtual town hall, communications professionals came together for a candid, working discussion on reputation management.

No presentations. No panels. Just real perspectives.

What became clear quickly is that reputation is not owned by one person, one team or one moment. It is shaped continuously, often by people who are not always in the room when decisions are made, but are responsible for helping organizations navigate what happens next.

The conversation started with a simple question. Who actually owns reputation when something goes wrong?

There was agreement that, ultimately, it sits at the top.

“Ultimately, I think the CEO owns reputation management, along with the board. Communicators play an absolutely crucial role in managing reputations day-to-day,” said Simon Locke, Founder and CEO of CommunicationsMatch™. 

That day-to-day role came up again and again. Communicators are the ones advising, interpreting and helping leadership see clearly, especially when things feel personal.

And right now, things are moving faster than ever.

“The speed at which a crisis can unfold is faster than ever before,” said Tiffany Guarnaccia, CEO and Founder of Kite Hill.

AI is not just changing how content is created. It is changing how reputation is shaped, discovered and challenged.

That makes the foundation even more important.

“The strongest brands invest in relationships long before they ever need them. That is what makes recovery possible,” said Stacey Ross Cohen, CEO of Co-Communications.

Reputation is built before the moment you need it. It is also shaped from the inside out.

“What happens on the inside is reflected outside,” said Orla Clancy, Founder and Managing Director of Strategic. 

That internal lens was reinforced by Cat Colella-Graham, Internal Communications Consultant at CCG, who emphasized that communications, especially internally, is never owned by one function alone.

“All communications is a team sport,” she said, pointing to the role of legal, risk and leadership working alongside communicators. 

At the same time, communicators are often expected to carry responsibility without full authority.

“We’re responsible for protecting the brand, but we’re not always in the room when the key decisions are made,” said Stacey Ross Cohen.

That tension continues to define the role. From crisis plans to what-if scenarios, the group returned to the importance of preparation, even if it is not always prioritized until something goes wrong.

But the environment itself is changing.

“I think the pace, the issues, and where they come from… it’s all kind of imploded a little bit. Everything feels like it’s on the table and not really necessarily clarified,” said Aman Singh of Kenvue.

She also pointed to a shift in how communicators think about channels.

“The question sometimes is: how could we reach our audience if earned media is not the primary channel of choice. There’s many other ways of keeping your audience close and engaged,” she said. 

At the same time, trust itself is becoming more fragile.

Renée S. Edelman, Senior Vice President, Edelman, said the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer found that 70 percent of people now are hesitant or unwilling to trust someone who has different values, information sources, approaches to societal problems or backgrounds than them. 

Edelman has proposed a solution, backed by its research, called Trust Brokering – or facilitating trust across differences. The employer is best positioned to be an effective Trust Broker.

That fragmentation is showing up everywhere, including in the pressure on leaders to take positions.

“Everything you say and do needs to be relevant to why you’re in business and the value you provide,” said Stacey Clark Ohara, former Vice President of Employee Engagement at Salesforce.

Gina Caputo, Consultant at StratEdge Consulting, reinforced that reputation is built in everyday interactions, across relationships, delivery and follow-through, not just in moments of crisis.

And across the conversation, authenticity kept coming up.

“Authenticity is key, especially now when so much content is produced by AI,” said Tiffany Guarnaccia. 

That connected to a broader reflection on how many women lead in communications roles.

“I think women are powerful storytellers. Being authentic, being real, being human, that is what connects,” said Stacey Ross Cohen.

There was also a recognition that listening matters as much as messaging.

“My sense is that ego is, in a way, the enemy of understanding and engagement,” said Simon Locke. 

The broader context is impossible to ignore.

“This must come up all the time… how do you engage, how can you stay neutral, can you take a position,” said Paul Duning, Publisher of Capitol Communicator. “It really takes extremely talented communications professionals to be able to filter what is coming in… what do you trust,” he added. 

At the same time, new dynamics are emerging.

Kaitlyn Kotlowski, SVP at M Booth, noted that reporters are increasingly using AI tools to identify sources, changing how thought leadership is surfaced and who gets seen. In response, the need for a more structured approach is becoming clear.

“We need multi-layered solutions for what are essentially multi-dimensional problems,” said Simon Locke. Because what communicators are managing now is not one issue at a time. It is everything, all at once.

And through it all, one thing remains consistent. Reputation is not a function. It is a shared responsibility.

But more often than not, it is communicators, many of them women, who are carrying the work, connecting the dots, and helping organizations navigate moments that define trust.

As Women’s History Month comes to a close, this conversation is a reminder that much of that work happens behind the scenes, but its impact is anything but small.