Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
Point blank, transitioning back to work after family leave is challenging. Getting your head back in the game after a weeklong vacation can be difficult. Imagine after several weeks or months.
It’s an “intense physical and psychological adjustment,” notes Denise Rousseau, a professor of organizational behavior and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University.
While I have only been back to work for one week, here are a few guiding principles that have kept me grounded.
Be gentle with yourself. Similar to other areas of our pandemic-driven life, it is important to give yourself grace. It’s an emotional time so it’s good to recognize that it will take time to acclimate.
Consider your schedule. Some choose to return gradually by working a couple of days a week or resume full-time work from the get-go. Not everyone has an option, but if you do, it’s sensible to consider the pros and cons of each. Whichever path you choose, experts recommend exploring working only two or three days in your first week back on the job.
Be upfront with your boss. Be transparent and honest about the new realities of your life as they relate to your job. Acknowledge that the coming weeks could be a bit bumpy but make it clear that you are committed to your job and your team. Experts recommend thinking about what you need from your employer and how to make your new situation work best for you. Additionally, seeking your boss’s advice and counsel on how to reenter successfully is a helpful way to better understand what is most critical and demonstrate a collaborative approach.
Set expectations with colleagues. Be mindful of how you manage relationships with colleagues as you settle into your new work life. Be direct about how and when you will work. Make your schedule predictable, or as predictable as possible. Things may change over time and even on the fly, of course, but if your colleagues know what to expect they will learn how and when to adjust as needed.
Seek support. Returning to your professional life is a process — don’t go it alone. You can join parent support groups, build connections with neighbors, and seek advice from colleagues who have been through the process.
Be mindful about your time with your family. As you adjust to your new routine, think about how you will spend time with your kids – and your spouse. Will it be in the morning before work? Mostly weekends? Be deliberate about carving out that time and be present with your family in the moment.
Reset your expectations. Returning to work after leave provides you with an opportunity to recast yourself. Think about what unique attributes you have to offer. Then consider how to modify those traits to suit your new life. “If you were the hardest-working person in the office, then maybe you become the most efficient. If you were the best mentor or project leader, you become the best delegator,” says Daisy Wademan Dowling, the founder and CEO of Workparent. The goal is to reset your expectations for yourself so you are set up to succeed in your new life.
In addition to the above, I personally believe a gracious return is extremely important – especially to those who have been picking up the slack for you while you were on leave.
I understand everyone’s experience is different, but I hope that a few of these tips can help other parents as they acclimate back into the work world.
As many of us face the challenge of balancing work and home life as they try to co-exist under one roof, I suspect I’m not alone in my quest for ways to accomplish more in the limited time we all have.
Always on the search for ways to be more efficient and productive, I’m a sucker for articles on wrangling an email inbox or YouTube videos on bullet journaling and product reviews of planners. Often the advice requires more work to implement than it delivers in productivity gains, but some of the tips, like daily task lists and relying on email search functions rather than scores of subfolders, have had a measurable positive impact.
One of the areas where I’ve been looking for efficiencies is with deep-focus tasks like writing, one of the most common tasks of my job. Recently I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about using rest to increase focus and get more done. Backed by neuroscience research, the article advised playing mindless games on your phone or letting your mind wander as you watch a pot of water boil – doing less in order to do more. Like a reboot is often the only way out of a hopelessly stuck computer, giving your brain time to wander allows it to engage its “default network,” which enables it to do the background work of problem solving and creative thinking.
This is a hard pill for me to swallow. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t voluntarily take breaks until a project is finished. Rather, I power through even admittedly unproductive periods to finish the job. And if I do take a break, say to let the dog out or grab a cup of coffee, I’m inevitably noodling on the project all the while.
Those aren’t the kind of breaks the article is advocating. According to Barbara Oakley, a writer and professor whose work focuses on the relationship between neuroscience and social behavior, “When you take a break, you may want to do something mind-consuming to help with motivation, but technically your best way of taking a break is to do something mindless.”
The idea was intriguing, and I decided to give it a try in a small, very controlled way. My daughter had told me she was using the Pomodoro Technique to write her college thesis, and that framework struck me as a good way to experiment with intentional rest. Pomodoro, often used to manage distractions or procrastination, involves dividing projects into 25-minute segments of work separated by 5-minute breaks. So, I blocked out time on my calendar, set up timers on my phone for 25 and 5 minutes, and took myself offline.
After four cycles, I had a well-crafted piece of writing and a few observations:
- During my initial 25 minutes I felt like I wasn’t accomplishing much, and my first rest period felt unnecessarily long. As I got into a rhythm, however, I noticed that both the writing and rest segments seemed sufficient in length.
- The transition from rest to writing had been relatively smooth, and I hadn’t struggled to find my place upon returning to work, as I’d feared.
- The writing periods were focused and intentional. Unlike in the past, I hadn’t had any of the unproductive periods where I found myself staring at the page after hours of work, unable to make sense of what I’d written.
- During the rest breaks, I made a point of not doing anything that involved reading or thinking – no checking my email or scrolling the news on my phone. I either stared out the window and let my mind wander or closed my eyes and focused on my breathing.
- Unsurprisingly, it was initially a challenge for me to intentionally do nothing, but it got easier and more familiar as I repeated the process.
Ultimately, this experiment feels like a success, and I intend to employ this technique going forward. I’m curious whether I will be able to use it when I’m under pressure – when improved focus and creative thinking would be especially helpful.
I’m excited to see if this works for me on a larger scale as well. Maybe I’ll try some of the suggestions made in the article like taking a long walk without listening to an audiobook or cooking a big meal without a reason or a schedule.
Social platforms are built to be addictive. Of course, that doesn’t make social media an unalloyed evil. Many of us depend on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn not just to stay in touch with our friends, but in order to do our jobs and advance our careers. So even though social media may be affecting you negatively (whether through a barrage of distractions or doomscrolling current events) quitting cold turkey still might not be the best option.
Outlined below are a few tips to disconnect from social media, without quitting entirely.
Tips to Disconnect
Turn off notifications
Social media apps are designed to hijack our attention and entice us to spend as much time as possible on them. When we get a notification, our brains release dopamine and we feel good. And since our brains crave dopamine, we’re wired to find fast fixes of it, like those from notifications. As a result, we subconsciously keep checking for notifications and obsessively review them when they come through.
It starts innocently enough at first, with a desire to look at people engaging with our posts. Between the big red numbers and the incessant dinging tones, soon we find ourselves shifting our focus away from what we were doing before. Five minutes quickly becomes 30. The Netflix documentary drama The Social Dilemma discusses this phenomenon at length, encouraging individuals to turn off notifications.
Delete social apps from your phone
Deleting an account altogether can feel like overkill and is a step most people aren’t willing to take. One way to protect time, productivity and mental sanity is by deleting apps like Instagram from our phones. By removing that easy access, we create a healthy barrier between ourselves and the endless scrolling available on social media.
Secure news from other sources
Social media is becoming a home for businesses and news outlets, making it easy to follow all our favorite news sources online and keep track of current news in one place. It might be hard to give up the current events available on social platforms. One alternative is to subscribe to newsletters. An email will hit your inbox (typically) once a day with recent news updates. There are a variety of newsletters from which to choose – from national news to industry news in tech, education, lifestyle, manufacturing, and much more. Outlined below are a few newsletter suggestions to point you in the right direction.
Tips to Stay Connected
Dedicate a specific amount of time to social media
One way to regulate time spent on social media is to map specific windows you can log in during. For example, setting a 15-minute timer at 2 p.m. on a Wednesday to look at what’s happening on your social platforms of choice. Once the timer expires, log out. Avoid the temptation to keep scrolling or to log in outside of your daily or weekly scheduled time.
Have a purpose
Time is better spent when it’s purposeful – a principle that also applies to social media. Instead of getting on just to look at what’s happening, write down what you want to accomplish before you get on. For example, you might choose to share two posts and like/comment on three others. Or you might extend invitations to connect with three colleagues on LinkedIn and follow two new reporters on Twitter. You might also use the time to respond to messages, review notifications, etc. By setting goals, social media becomes a productive tool, rather than a waste of time. Remember: When you’re online, stick to your goals. Once you’ve completed them, sign off.
Taking a step back from social media can positively impact our productivity and mindset. Though useful in the world of PR and communications, it’s important to have boundaries that prevent social media from taking up too much space in our lives.
The world has been buzzing since the announcement of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s tell-all interview with Oprah. Since airing on March 7 in the U.S., the internet, talk shows and celebrities have not stopped talking about the content of the interview and its potential impact.
The highly anticipated interview, as well as the aftermath, have highlighted a handful of important PR lessons that spokespeople and PR professionals should all keep in mind.
Know your messages
If you’ve watched the interview, it was clear that Meghan prepared. Her responses were measured, thoughtful and direct. This is critical for spokespeople when conducting interviews. Interviews are an excellent way to raise awareness for your organization, communicate benefits and demonstrate thought leadership. Unprepared or underprepared spokespeople often don’t communicate their messages clearly or effectively, minimizing the potential impact of the interview.
Proof points are critical
Several times throughout the interview, Oprah pushed Meghan on her claims and/or sought clarity. In some of her responses Meghan had examples or facts to back up her claims, and other times she did not have all the information to back statements. For example, she noted that 60-70% of the commonwealth is made up of people of color, which is why she believes representation is so important. However, when pushed on the topic of Archie’s title, she fumbled as she referenced a clause, which she felt supported her claim of a discrepancy in tradition. If the reference to this had been clearer with more detail, her statement would have been more impactful.
Don’t rush it
Often, spokespeople feel pressured to respond to journalists quickly—it’s human nature to avoid the awkward silence. Especially when spokespeople are feeling nervous or pressured during an interview, they often jump into a response that is filled with rambling or “ums.”
Meghan usually paused before her responses to Oprah’s questions, giving her a moment to gather her thoughts and deliver an eloquent and concise response. This approach makes it easier for the interviewer and the audience to follow along with the spokesperson.
Be ready to adapt
This goes for both spokespeople during interviews and for organizations responding to public claims. For spokespeople, they will never know exactly how an interview will go. Regardless of the amount of preparation, its important to always be ready to adapt. And the pause mentioned above can be very helpful in doing so.
More importantly, if an organization is responding to public claims, it needs to be prepared to adapt. There are claims (that we cannot substantiate), that the palace had a statement drafted and ready to publish following the broadcast of the interview. However, after hearing the content of the interview, it held the statement and drafted a new one.
Whether this is true or not, it does raise an important point: It is critical to be prepared for crises, but regardless of what you have on hand, you may be forced to adapt. In this case, the information shared during the interview was shocking and sensitive and required a more thoughtful and personal response.
It’s uncommon for one interview to be as high-profile as the one with Meghan, Harry and Oprah was, but it does remind us that effective interviews can have a significant impact.
A frequently asked questions (FAQ) document is one of the most valuable and must-have materials because it supports both clients and PR professionals in the development of consistent key messages. Typically, an FAQ appears on a company website and acquaints potential customers with information that builds awareness for the brand and promotes its product or service.
For public relations professionals, we regularly draft internal FAQs that serve as a foundational material when kicking off a partnership with a new client. It allows PR professionals to take a step back and ponder the intricate questions members of the media might ask. Gathering these questions ahead of time makes it easier to urgently address media requests in a timely and consistent manner.
Below are a handful of tips to create straightforward yet comprehensive FAQs that can be utilized throughout media relations to deliver consistent and strong messaging.
Best Practices for Creating an Effective FAQ
Include Common Questions – Incorporate the simple, common questions that may seem unnecessary in FAQs. Although it may seem tedious, it’s important to take this time to be thorough and include every piece of information you believe reporters will want to know about the organization. With this document, every member of the team has ready-to-use, approved messaging that has been thoughtfully written out.
Categorize the Document – Organize the FAQ in a systematic way that focuses on the company and its offerings first, then goes into the broader questions. Keeping them structured and grouped will save you time in the future to clearly identify what you’re looking for and ensure that anyone reviewing the document can easily find the content they need.
Keep it Short and on Message – When possible, keep the language clear, conversational and succinct. It’s important to use simple language that fully aligns with the company’s mission statement and its value propositions. Additionally, FAQs should include proof points that back up any claims to ensure information is accurate, convincing and believable. Remember, your goal is to clearly answer the media’s questions, not confuse them!
Write for Your Audience – It’s critical to ponder the types of questions reporters will ask once they receive a story idea. Review your client’s top priority journalists and read recent articles. This will help you get a sense of their style and spark a slew of questions that help make the relationship much for effective for all parties involved.
Beneath I’ve compiled a few example questions for inspiration.
Example Questions to Consider:
- What is the product/service?
- What pain point does the product/service address?
- What are the key benefits?
- What are the drawbacks or shortcomings of the product/service?
- Who’s the target audience?
- Who are the company’s top competitors?
- When was the company founded?
- Where is the company located?
- Who is on the executive team?
- How many people are employed at the company?
FAQs can be a great public relations’ tool that serves as a foundational material, offering access to client-approved language to answer media requests swiftly. Hopefully, these tips and example questions will guide you to create an FAQ that instigates connections with reporters to drive meaningful results for clients.
How to Offer Writing Feedback That’s Constructive and Valuable
Providing constructive feedback on written materials is a daunting yet valuable opportunity to help advance an individual’s writing career. Without receiving feedback, a writer cannot truly work on improving their skills and ultimately becoming successful in their profession. It plays a vital role in both personal and professional development, with as much as 96% of employees saying feedback is one of the most important parts of their growth.
In public relations, writing remains the most basic skill a successful individual can hold. Writing that is clear and compelling helps PR professionals secure positive media exposure for clients or can effectively communicate key messages to the public. Obtaining constructive feedback on written materials is important for each public relations professional because it challenges their skills in a helpful way. It also encourages them to learn how to better express compelling and thought-provoking story ideas within their writing, no matter where they stand on the career ladder.
While the majority of individuals who provide feedback do so with good intentions, it can all too often come across as not helpful and confusing for the writer. Below are three tips to help editors provide helpful suggestions that can contribute to a winning final document.
Be Empathetic and Understanding
Writing can make people feel vulnerable. It takes years of practice and deep expertise to grow into the type of writer who can consistently deliver exceptional pieces in the first draft. To help the writer combat this insecurity, an editor should first acknowledge what the writer has done well, in conjunction with what needs to be improved. The majority of writing has strengths, so it’s important to point out what those are when you see them. This sort of positive feedback helps build the confidence and capability of the writer, and increased confidence can equate to stronger writing.
Ask Open-Ended Questions
As an editor, it’s important to remember that the goal of a review isn’t to impede the writer’s ability to deliver quality work. Instead, ask questions that may lead the writer down the right path and help them reach their fullest writing potential. It may take more work initially, but it will help inspire the writer and guide them to understand where revisions need to happen.
Some of these questions might include:
Turn on Track Changes
The Track Changes feature in Word is one of the most useful tools that allows editors to record all changes and easily distinguish them between corrections and comments. For writers, it allows them to visually see the suggested changes and accept them one at a time. Additionally, this feedback can be referenced over and over again for writers looking to fully engrain the feedback and apply it to future work.
When critiquing someone’s writing, it’s the editor’s job to determine whether or not the writer accomplished the specified goal. Concentrate on what the writer can do to improve the subsequent version and you’ll support their creation of a winning final piece. Remember, practice makes perfect so as long as the writer keeps working at their skills, they will improve!