Which higher ed communicator are you zodiac sign
Carol Keese, a wonderful friend and colleague, texted me. She's the Vice President for University Communications and Chief Marketing Officer at the University of Oregon, and after the marketer version of this made the rounds, she wanted to know where the crisis comms people were.
Fair question. If you read the first one, you already know the premise. Astrology isn't real. The archetypes are more fun than accurate anyway, and somehow half your team still shows up exactly like their sign. What that piece missed was the other side of the building: the people who write the statement instead of the campaign, who get the 6 a.m. call instead of the enrollment report. Here's their twelve. Find your sign. Tag the colleague who's obviously a Scorpio. (Hi, Carol.)
Western astrology sorts the twelve signs into four elements and three modes. Fire signs move first. Earth signs hold the line. Air signs connect the dots. Water signs notice what nobody said out loud. Cross that with cardinal signs that start the plan and fixed signs that won't let go of it, plus the mutable signs quietly adjusting it in real time, and you get a rough map of an entire communications team: the person who drafted the statement before the meeting about drafting a statement had ended, and the person still asking who actually approved it three weeks later.
None of this belongs in a hiring rubric or a performance review. It belongs here.
Frequently asked questions
Is there any science behind zodiac signs and personality?
No. The APA Dictionary of Psychology classifies astrology as a pseudoscience: the belief that planetary positions shape personal characteristics, unsupported by any scientific evidence. None of that will stop someone from insisting the Scorpio on your team definitely wrote that statement.
What zodiac sign makes the best higher ed communicator?
None of them, on their own. Aries gets the statement out fast and Virgo makes sure it's actually accurate. Somebody like Pisces usually has to make sure it still sounds like it came from a person. One sign covers maybe a third of the job.
Which zodiac sign is best suited for media relations?
In this framework, Scorpio. The sign's instinct to dig past the first explanation and verify what actually happened maps directly onto handling a tough question from a reporter.
Which zodiac sign fits executive communications and speechwriting best?
In this framework, Leo. The sign's association with presence and memorable delivery fits naturally with writing for a stage or a camera.
What's the best zodiac sign for crisis communications?
Aries, in this framework. The sign's comfort acting fast, sometimes faster than approval can keep up, matches the pace crisis response actually requires.
Can I use this to make actual hiring or team decisions?
No. If HR asks why a candidate wasn't hired, "wrong element" isn't going to hold up in the meeting.
None of this will show up on a media training certificate. It might explain a few things about why your last crisis debrief went the way it did. Screenshot your card and tag the teammate who's obviously a Scorpio. See if the rest of your team agrees. If you want to guess who's who on the communications team at Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, I'm not confirming anything. Ask me next time you see me at a conference.
