SPOTLIGHT: Eleanor Reece

From the Newsroom to Corporate Life: Lessons from Eleanor Reece

By Ria Deshmukh

NYWICI’s 2024 Trailblazer honoree, Eleanor Reece, has navigated a diverse career path, pivoting from newsrooms to global communications at Whirlpool. While new technologies and changes in the professional landscape are redefining the industry, she has forged her path on the belief that storytelling remains the ultimate professional advantage. In this interview, she reflects on the lessons she has learned in her career.

Keep it Simple

In her career, Reece identifies purposeful storytelling as the non-negotiable common thread. Even in the age of AI, the modern communicator’s primary value lies in distilling complex information for audiences, often under time constraints. Success requires a sense of urgency that never sacrifices the core strategy of the organization.

Additionally, Reece says executive communication is born in editing. Reflecting on her time writing broadcast news, Reece recalls a CNN copy editor who relentlessly cut extraneous words. In journalism and corporate affairs, every word is intentionally written to help the audience absorb the message. Simplification is the only way to ensure your message cuts through endless messaging from countless other organizations.

Don’t Be Afraid to Change Directions

Reece challenges professionals to resist the urge to pigeonhole themselves into a single, narrow trajectory. When she moved from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., she successfully transitioned from journalism to public affairs and crisis communications. This shift was fueled by the recognition that core communication skills (writing, speaking, and strategic thinking) are universal assets that transcend industries.

Learn to Get Comfortable with Uncertainty

Reece maintains that gray areas are where the most significant professional growth occurs. When the next step is ambiguous, communicators can effectively shape the organization’s future. By “getting those reps in” early, you build the executive stamina required to lead through uncertainty with confidence.

Build Relationships in Every Direction

Networking is a multidirectional discipline that requires building authentic relationships up, across, and down the organizational chart. Reece highlights empathy as a unique tool for women in leadership that allows for deeper connections and a more nuanced understanding of the professional landscape. She also champions communities like NYWICI for providing a “judgment-free zone” where experiences are shared freely. Crucially, she views mentorship as a reciprocal exchange, seeing early career professionals as a valuable perspective.

Aim for a Career Built on Helping Others

For Reece, legacy is rarely found in grandiose achievements; it is forged in the day-to-day. She wants to be remembered as someone who helped. Reece believes that while people lack total control over how they are remembered, they have absolute control over daily actions and how they make people feel. A true professional legacy is the cumulative result of being consistently helpful and present in every interaction.

Advice for the Next Generation of Communicators Reflecting on the early days of her career, Reece encourages the next generation to move past being “incredibly serious” and to truly enjoy milestones and achievements. She reminds readers to soak in the experiences as they happen rather than worrying about the next move. For those who can balance the mastery of core fundamentals with curiosity and adaptability, the sky is truly the limit.