Avoiding burnout in the land of strategic communications
Ava Lawler discusses the challenges facing the communications industry and shares how The Possibility Partnership was born.
How can a communications professional tell it is getting close to Christmas? Because of the number of stress-filled tears that fill the bathroom. And this is not a joke.
As the tempo increases at year end, exhaustion takes a grip. Stressed individuals communicate with less diplomacy and anxious recipients respond with more emotion. Overwhelmed leaders dealing with demanding deadlines are navigating outcomes through a sea of turmoiled emotions. The holiday period is not the only cluster f*ck of emotional and deadline overload, but it is the most consistent. And every year we plan for it to be easier, only to be clawing our way to the summer break.
For me, leadership has often felt like it was granted because I was the ‘last person standing’. Over the years I have seen so many talented colleagues depart the sector for less stressful pastures. This loss of expertise has sapped our industry of strength and it is weakening our impact in the boardroom. The senior people that are left are overloaded with increasing responsibility to coach new entrants and firefight issues that result from overloaded and underqualified teams managing heavier workloads and higher responsibilities.
A fantastic business model. All the best Ava and team.
Spot on Ava! Totally relate to your story. I believe there is an additional factor at play. A lot of clients confuse strategy with ‘hyper action’ and start “briefing” people without pushing back on Boards and CEOs to clearly define what problem is, they are actually trying to solve. Defining the problem and stating it clearly takes time and guts.
Amen to that Ava !
Thanks for the feedback and support Bec
Thanks for the support Susanne. I agree with you too. Unfortunately, ‘strategy’ is over-stated, under-used and misunderstood.
Thanks for the support Michelle
what a fabulous role model Ava
Thank you for sharing this timely and personally-relevant article! I would add another stress-creator for the Marketing Communications manager and the agency: Fluctuating budgets. When business stakeholders cut operating and paid media budget right before – or after – campaigns are underway, creating immense churn for internal teams and the creative and paid media agencies. This knee-jerk practice not only hurts morale and creates distrust – it ensures a sporadic presence in the competitive market. Not a positive practice for the brand or the customer.