Over the last twenty years, I’ve spent tens of thousands of hours in the trenches with senior communications professionals working on leadership development.
I am endlessly impressed with the tenacity, grit and patience of this community, which in many ways (especially during and after the pandemic) seems to be quietly holding up the sky.
What fascinates me is that in working with communications leaders in large and small organizations, across the public and private sectors on six continents, an absolutely discernable pattern emerges.
If you lead a communications team, you probably face:
- Rising expectations and relentless pressure to demonstrate measurable results.
- A yawning gap between your level of experience/expertise and that of your team.
- A team that’s very likely too small, too tactical and too siloed.
- A wish to be more proactive but a reality that’s almost all reactive.
- A wild-wild west of governance and process for communications, wasting precious time fighting internal battles and reinventing the wheel.
Sound familiar?
If so, I have 3 ideas for you:
- Download this free Communications Director’s Handbook. There is no sign-up required, and it is jam packed with my best advice for weary communications leaders.
- Check out this Communications Team Assessment Quiz. It’s also free and has no sign-ups. It may be valuable to help you pinpoint your team’s strengths and gap areas.
- Consider joining the spring cohort for the Leadership Development Program for Communicators. Offered in partnership with the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute, it’s a unique three-day program specifically designed to help communications leaders draw a bigger box and liberate trapped talent.
In solidarity,
