Self-Care for the New Manager
Becoming a new people manager is a seminal moment for a PR professional. I remember when I learned I’d be managing someone. It was one part exhilarating and one part scary.
A transition from tactician to one responsible for another person’s professional development is an important responsibility.
The key to a successful manager/employee relationship is taking care of your well-being so you have the energy to ensure that your direct reports feel supported and confident to do their job.
Helping to prevent or minimize work-related stressors by proactively discussing workplace well-being will positively impact your managerial role.
Here are three well-being tips for new people managers.
1. Act like you now have a new job — because you do.
Having a sense of your new role and responsibilities will go a long way to ensuring that your path is successful. Before you start managing people, speak with your direct manager, secure agreement on your priorities going forward and know what should be delegated.
A great manager will guide you on how to make this evolution, which includes feeling comfortable with letting some tasks go to someone else.
Letting go is one of the most challenging parts of being a manager. You can now help someone else learn how to write a media pitch, develop a press list, write the first draft of social media posts and perform other tactics you’ve already mastered.
2. Understand that people will be following your lead.
We often look to our direct managers as a model for how we should function professionally. Your new directs will look at every move you make, including:
Are you sending emails late at night and over weekends?
Are you joining conference calls while on vacation?
Are you even taking a vacation?
Are you scheduling meetings just to schedule meetings?
Modeling the behavior as one who prioritizes their well-being will show your team the right path forward and ultimately help retain your team members who otherwise might burn out and want to leave the company. See this new role as an opportunity to establish a best practice to protect your and your team’s well-being.
3. Ask questions and listen.
Now that you’ve established your role and the boundaries you’ll set, now is the time to have discussions with your new directs. As you’re building relationships, consider asking the following questions:
What would help you maintain your well-being while working?
What work scenarios have been challenging and have impacted your well-being?
How would you like to be supported if you are feeling stress and anxiety?
How have workplace situations caused stress in the past?
How can I best support your well-being?
Finally, one of the most important things I learned in my PR career: Your success is measured by the success of your team. Celebrate great work from your team, share kudos with your leadership, and give your directs opportunities to succeed and shine. Their accomplishments will be rewarded, and you will be rewarded as well.
Establishing these best practices will go a long way to make sure that your well-being — and your team’s well-being — is a priority.
How to Be a New Manager
I recently polled nearly 400 new people managers in the PR profession. When asked if they received formal manager training, I learned that only 17% had, while 83% received informal or zero training.
It’s no wonder why the people manager is the most challenging position in our profession. We don’t know how to be one.
And because we don’t know how to be one, we get overwhelmed and burned out, impacting our well-being and those we manage.
Reflecting on my career, I realized I lacked formal management training. I had great managers to model and follow, but as I examined times that I learned tough lessons, many were due to a lack of education in several areas that I should have learned much earlier.
We need to address proper training of new people managers in a relatable, practical and actionable way so that they can immediately develop into trusted advisors for their clients and teams.
If you’re a new people manager or responsible for helping build a new group of people managers, then please take these three tips to heart.
1. New titles and responsibilities should never come at the cost of your well-being.
Your well-being is always paramount to any updated title or list of responsibilities. Often, we take on new challenges with a positive mindset, which is great until the nights are longer and the weekends are shorter. We feel guilty about taking a vacation, and those back-to-back all-day meetings are more the standard than the exception.
You aren’t helpful to your clients and teams if you’re well-being isn’t at 100%, and most important, it’s not helpful to you either.
2. There are no “soft” skills, only skills.
Often, we think about skills like teamwork, communication and time management as “soft skills.” This is an inaccurate phrase that de-emphasizes the importance of these skills to the well-being of the employee and business. The assumed “traditional” skills like writing, presenting and creating spreadsheets don’t mean anything if you are unhealthy.
We need to simply refer to all these activities as skills and weigh them as crucial as any other skill.
3. We must share and learn from one another.
It’s OK not to have all the answers. Many of us don’t!
Being a leader can be a lonely experience. Even with all the training, it’s nothing if there isn’t an environment where people can learn and share ideas safely.
Find a group of peers — whether they are already in your organization or it’s through other avenues — to formally connect with regularly. Share ideas and be vulnerable. You’ll be surprised how much you’ll hear about others going through the same challenges.
So, ask yourself: Are you in the 17% or 83%? And if you’re in the 83%, then what steps will you take soon?
Return to What?
Every day, I chat with someone about an update to their company’s return to office policy. I typically hear one of three statements:
“We’re supposed to go into the office three days per week, but it’s not enforced.”
“I go into the office, and there’s no one else there. It’s a waste of my time. I spend two hours a day commuting. Why am I here?”
“We all go into the office, but all we do is stare at our computers and work. I don’t even work with anyone in my office!”
And here lies the problem with “return to office.”
We haven’t defined “return” and “office” in the current and future state of work. Business leaders: My call to action is to define these two words for your company and discuss them with your employees before implementing a return-to-office policy.
Let’s take a step back. I talk with a wide range of members of the PR profession — from agency account executives and in-house PR managers to CCOs and agency CEOs.
Learning on the job is a significant issue. New professionals are eager to learn, and business leaders want their employees to learn faster.
The value of learning from others in an in-person environment is immeasurable. The problem, however, is twofold:
Employees have made significant adjustments to their personal life while working full-time from home, from moving to another city to childcare. According to research from HR software company Gusto, “48% of workers said that the ability to work from home some or all of the time would be a major or the most important factor in determining whether to accept a job offer in the future.” Companies, are you listening?
When companies send out corporatewide policies saying, “We need everyone in three times per week,” they haven’t explained why and how it will be a different (and positive) employee experience.
Every company needs to be able to answer two questions:
How are we defining ‘return?’
Be as specific as possible. “Come in twice per week” does little for your employees. What activities are we prioritizing for our employees while in the office? If your team comes into the office and all they do is sit at their desk conducting video calls, then that’s not a great use of their time.
Get granular if you want your team to come in twice per week. One example: “From 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, please be in the office to discuss news trends, conduct brainstorms and host actionable in-person meetings with your teams. Otherwise, continue working from home for the rest of the week.”
What activities should employees prioritize at home?
Save your meetings and brainstorming sessions to in-person discussions and spend time at home on your day-to-day heads down activities — writing, pitching, planning, research, and other activities requiring focus and concentration. Please encourage your teams to set boundaries while at home.
Another issue I hear is that because it’s easier to start working, people working from home are working longer hours, which causes burnout. Set boundaries with your team and stick with them, especially on nights and weekends.
In short:
When in the office, prioritize learning and leadership time.
When at home, prioritize deadlines and to-do lists.
Finally, listen to your employees. Conduct quantitative and qualitative research before implementing a policy. It will save you and your employees time and money.
The faster we can answer, “Return to what?” the better it is for companies and the well-being of their employees.
What Is Your Team Charter?
I love springtime. After a long winter, it’s a welcome to bring on the fresh smells, crisp rain, bright flowers and a renewed enthusiasm.
It’s also a great time to look at a special kind of plan I want you to consider developing.
I was recently chatting with a communications director for a global company. They’re building a brand-new team and asked for my thoughts on best practices to keep up team morale. They’re concerned about their team burning out, and they want to do what they can to ensure they are showing their team that they are prioritizing their well-being.
I recommended to them, and you, to develop a workplace wellness charter.
If you’re a team of one or a team of 10, you need a set of norms that help set boundaries around work expectations. Such a charter is a short document and shouldn’t be more than one page.
Some of you might be thinking, “Mark, you’re crazy. There’s no way I can set guardrails around my work. I’m needed 24/7!”
I disagree. I’m challenging you to establish agreed-upon expectations with your teams. Getting buy-in from your teams will show leadership, demonstrate that you care about their well-being, and ultimately could see a reduction in employee turnover which will positively impact your firm, consultancy or company.
Things that should be included in such a charter are:
Define work hours.
When I started my career, I received permission from my manager to work from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time, so I could contact media on the East Coast before their deadlines and beat the afternoon traffic when commuting home.
What are the “core” business hours of your company? When is your team expected to be available? Is it 9-11 a.m. and 1-4 p.m., for example, and other times are flexible so team members can make personal arrangements? What are the expectations for working on nights and weekends? Our profession isn’t 9-5, but I’ve witnessed a lot of people burn out because they believe they’re supposed to be available all day, every day. Is that true? Discuss this with your team.
Establish core business days.
I have written and spoken about how we, as PR professionals, are not taking our paid time off. Set guidelines that empower you and your teams to take time off. This isn’t just for in-house and agency teams. Consultants: Consider including your bill of working rights with your clients.
Have actionable backup plans.
How is your team ensuring that their established schedules and boundaries will be respected? How is your team cross-trained and equipped to effectively back each other up when taking much-deserved time off? How does your team know that their manager will go to bat to ensure time off and boundaries are being respected outside of the team?
Schedule time on a routine basis to ensure that your team is prepared to cover, not just in the case of emergency, but also so your team can take a guilt-free and well-deserved vacation!
Set a purpose for scheduling and running meetings.
We are in too many meetings. Many of them are essential; however, too many are nonessential or poorly run. What is your team’s decision process for scheduling, deciding who attends, their role, and preparing them for a successful, strategic, and actionable meeting? Documenting that for your team will go a long way to helping your colleagues reduce burnout.
Use this charter when onboarding new team members and in the interview process. Are you interviewing prospective candidates? Show them you are thinking about their well-being from day one by showing them this charter.
I’m not asking you to become an HR manager and set formal policies. Make sure that anything that is set up is per your company’s HR policies. All this said, having a plan in place will improve morale and set yourself and your team up for personal and professional success.
Leading by Example
Regardless of what stage you’re in your career, know that you are the future of the PR profession.
People look up to us to set an example. They look at every move we make. They analyze every email we send, how we lead meetings, and overall, how we conduct ourselves and treat others.
While we don’t know exactly how our work environment will evolve over the next year or decade, one thing will always be consistent: our need to be mentally and physically fit to lead.
Staying fit is essential to have the energy to build trust and rapport with your teams, which will increase respect, understanding, communication, and ultimately acting as trusted advisers to help your organizations meet their business objectives.
Staying connected with your employees will boost morale. It will help bring a human side to you and ultimately help grow those professionals to see you as the people they want to become.
Here are my three recommendations on how to do so.
1. Analyze how you’re engaging with your teams and adjust as needed.
Often, we revert to all-staff meetings in which we stand in front of a podium (virtual or physical) and deliver remarks.
As we evolve in this new era, identify ways to connect with your teams beyond one-to-many engagements. Ask your teams regularly to what degree they feel connected with you and each other.
2. Show your team how you’re staying mentally and physically fit and making yourself a priority.
If you’re a leader today, it wasn’t because of luck — it was in part because you’ve understood how to prioritize your mental and physical health.
Many of you have established nutrition, mindfulness and physical health habits. Whether it’s going to yoga, using an at-home spin bike, hiring a personal trainer or nutritionist, many of you are investing in yourself. Share those stories with your team. Talk with your team about how you prioritize your health and wellness, especially if you’re using your company’s benefits in doing so.
3. Open up.
As many professionals are examining their personal and professional lives in the post-pandemic era, this is an opportunity to reconnect with your teams, show your vulnerable side and empower your team and give them the time to do so.
Doing so will lead them to understand how important they are to you and ultimately show them how to treat their teams when they become managers and executives.
And ideally, you’re spending time with them in a way that positively impacts mental and physical health. Virtual walk and talk meetings are a great way to stay active with your team.
Think about how you prioritize yourself to grow in your career, then pass that message along to your teams, and empower them to do the same.
Strong in the Body Equals Strong in the Mind
The amount of wellness marketing we receive at the start of every year focuses greatly on cardio and diet. As you wake up in February and look for more inspiration to help your mind and body, I want you to consider something different: strength training.
A consistent strength training regimen is essential to keep our bones healthier and our joints stronger. My sleep quality improves at least 30% when I do consistent strength training in the morning. My mood is better. My focus is sharper.
And these are just the short-term benefits.
Researchers have found a 10 to 20% reduction in the risk of early death from all causes — and from cancer and heart disease specifically — occurred when people did approximately 30 to 60 minutes of muscle-building workouts per week.
If you’re interested in some ideas to incorporate strength training for minutes a day, then there are three things I encourage you to buy. As a collective, these items can cost under $100. And yet, when used consistently, it will give you priceless benefits to your health.
• The first is a weighted jump rope.
Jump ropes are tremendous cardiovascular tools, and when combined with weights, they are incredibly powerful. Starting with a one-pound weighted jump rope — which is a lot heavier than you may think — will do wonders for your arms and core.
If you’re a frequent traveler, then there are even ropeless weighted jump rope options to pack in your luggage and use in your hotel room or gym.
• The second is a weighted vest.
These are wonderful, low-impact options to help burn more calories by adding resistance. As we head into springtime soon, use a weighted vest while working from home during your walk-and-talk calls!
These vests come in various colors and sizes and have scalable weight options. Ensure you’re adjusting the vest and feel comfortable wearing one before long walks.
• The third is a kettlebell.
Kettlebells are magical devices for the best all-around strength and cardio workout. Ten to 15 minutes with a kettlebell two to three times weekly will work wonders for you. Kettlebells also come in various weight sizes and colors, so start with lower weight and adjust as needed; there are even kettlebells with adjustable weights.
I highly recommend speaking with a certified kettlebell coach who can help you with the proper form and technique.
And, again, if you’re a frequent traveler, sometimes hotel gyms don’t have kettlebells. Don’t fear! You can purchase attachments to pack so you can use regular dumbbells as kettlebells.
Before starting any strength training program, please ensure that you use the proper form and techniques. Find a local personal trainer or resource online to learn how to use these products. Ensure that you’re spending at least 5 to 10 minutes per exercise to properly warm up and cool down. Also, make sure that you boost your protein intake to repair your muscles faster.
Finally, when starting your strength training, give yourself a few days to overcome those early-onset aches and pains. Your muscles are waking up and it will take some time to recover. They will!
In no time, you will not only see the changes to your mood and sleep, but you will also notice that you feel better in your clothes.
Please let me know what steps you’re taking in your physical health journey!
Building Connections With Human Resources
If you take care of your people, then you will make more money. And it’s also the right thing to do.
According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), replacing an employee can cost three to four times the employee’s salary. Recent data from McKinsey states workplace flexibility and support for employee health and well-being are drivers in employee retention.
Employees’ experience at their company needs to be designed with their career, emotional, financial, mental and physical well-being in mind. Let’s look closer at mental health benefits. Data from Gallup says 57% of U.S. workers cannot confirm the existence of easily accessible mental health support services in their workplace.
These key challenges can be solved by utilizing skills within our profession. Our strategic communications and relationship-building skills, traditionally used for external purposes, have increasingly been used for internal publics. PRSA has an entire section dedicated to this group!
We have an opportunity to work closely with our human resources counterparts to ensure that people understand how to access the mental health resources and other benefits the company has designated.
Here are some ways PR leaders can play a role:
Understand how business decision-makers are influenced.
The C-suite and their respective board of directors want to know how employee well-being programs will impact the company’s reputation and financial impact. If a well-run program can save the company 10 times in turnover and health insurance costs, then they will be more likely to say yes to new initiatives.
Be aware of all the benefits your company offers.
For example, even if you’re not a parent, are you still aware of the benefits for parents your company provides? How might your research impact a 1:1 conversation with someone you manage who is a parent or is expecting?
Studies show we make buying decisions based on trusted family, friends and colleagues. Does your company offer a new meditation app, therapy or other services for mental health?
Test out the benefit and try out the user experience. Even if you don’t use the service long-term, someone on your team or a trusted colleague might be interested in your feedback.
Participate in employee resource groups.
Take part in voluntary, employee-led groups to nurture a diverse, inclusive workplace aligned with the organization. These groups are great ways to connect with others outside your immediate work stream. They are also groups often empowered to share thoughts and ideas with business decision-makers on benefits available to the company.
Share feedback with the HR department.
HR teams work tirelessly and thanklessly to source and select the right benefits based on their employees’ feedback. If you have feedback on behalf of yourself or your team, then deliver it promptly to your HR team.
Our relationship with human resources has never been more important, nor has it had as much potential to advance our profession. I look forward to witnessing how these relationships evolve in the coming years.
The Most Underrated Phrase in Leadership
The most important relationship in an organization is between the manager and the employee. This relationship ultimately makes up a large majority of one’s employee experience. Think about your career and the experiences you have had. A lot of these memories come down to how someone managed you.
My experiences with my direct managers throughout my PR career are the primary memories — good, bad or indifferent — at those companies.
Today’s evolved work environment has changed how these relationships are built. I was fortunate to meet every manager in person throughout my career. In today’s era, that might not be the case. Employees may spend their entire time at a company never meeting their manager in person.
It’s a significant shift in how we build trust and rapport and deliver feedback.
Leaders in recent years have been focusing on improving the value of 1:1 meetings, including the frequency and length.
However, we also need to address uncertainty. Recent data suggests that people are nervous about talking to their managers. In a study by Humu, 49% of employees feel anxious before 1:1 meetings with their manager.
One way to alleviate the stress is to focus the meetings as less transactional (status reports) and more constructive and conversational (quality of work).
A constructive and conversational approach to 1:1 meetings is essential during difficult conversations.
One example: Think about times throughout your career you received harsh feedback. Examples might include:
“We’re taking you off the account.”
“I had to rewrite your plan.”
“You’re not getting promoted yet.”
Throughout my career, I’ve heard stories about people’s heightened stress and anxiety levels, not just because of the content of the feedback but even more so because of the lack of context.
This is why we need to consider using the most underrated phrase in leadership: “And here’s why.”
When delivering a difficult message, include this phrase in the context.
“We’re taking you off the account, and here’s why…”
“I had to rewrite your plan, and here’s why…”
“You’re not getting promoted yet, and here’s why...”
This is essential when giving positive feedback as well:
“We’re giving you a bonus, and here’s why…”
“Here’s an extra paid day off. Thank you for your work, and here’s why…”
“We’re giving three months additional fully paid parental leave, and here’s why…”
Evolving your 1:1 conversations and taking a few extra moments to share context will reap enormous rewards for those you manage, ultimately making you a more respected and impactful leader that your employees will want to emulate.
Speaking of taking a few extra moments: I think you are all fantastic PR leaders and trusted advisors, and here’s why: With little fanfare, you are helping build essential relationships to support the missions of companies and organizations you care about.
You’re doing so often understaffed, under-supported and under pressure with constant challenges from leadership who constantly ask to show your value. I know your worth. I see your worth. Thank you for all you do!
The Career Well-Being of Your Team
As business leaders, we take pride in the people and teams we manage. Their success is our success and gives us the confidence to continue to evolve.
The new year is only three months away! And after the holidays wrap up, a lot of decisions will be made by members of your team as they’ll be designing their personal and professional plans for the year.
According to Indeed, “Companies tend to hire most in January and February.” Your team members might already be thinking about a move away from your company, leaving you with gaps to immediately fill.
This is an opportunity to make sure you’re thinking about the career well-being of your team members.
Here’s how:
Talk with your team members about their role.
When I ran agency account teams, I made time to talk to my teams often about their current role, what they are interested in doing, and how that mapped to the goals of the agency.
Based on their feedback we did what we could to make sure their career trajectory was a fit for the client and the firm. As a result, that meant shuffling around responsibilities, creating brand-new roles, or finding opportunities for team members to work on other account teams.
More than anything, the team members appreciated that their careers were being thought about first.
Recommendation: Host 30-60 minute conversations with your team members every six months specifically focused on their role and how it ladders up to their career ambitions. Listen to what they are saying.
Be proactive about the future work environment.
We know the evolving landscape of the work environment in this new era will continue to be a challenge. This can cause stress and anxiety for your team. Recently, I led a workshop for a PR firm that wants to ensure its employees can work in person safely as part of a hybrid solution.
We had a positive and transparent discussion with all agency employees centered around the specific benefits of working at home and in the office for both the employee, the client and the organization.
Recommendation: If you haven’t already, discuss your expectations with your team. This is a topic I covered back in the March issue on designing your team charter.
Learn to let it go with grace; it’s essential for your well-being.
A lot of us take our employees’ leaving very personally. We can question ourselves, which can cause an impact on our confidence. I want us always to take a step back, evaluate the situation, and examine our role.
Often, we forget the positive impact we had on our team to set them up for success to secure that new role. The other thing we always need to keep in mind is that the employee you used to manage could become a future partner, client or boss! Your employees will remember how you respond to them leaving.
Recommendation: When a team member is moving on, make sure to end this chapter of your professional relationship on a high note. Celebrate them and thank them for their partnership.
Your Summertime Self-Care Guide
As we head into a new phase in the COVID era, one which delivers an increase of vaccinations and the opportunity to see friends and family again, I want to acknowledge all of you in our profession who have been managing your jobs and personal lives. Thank you for all that you’re doing.
We’re heading toward the heart of the summer, which means barbecues, family vacations and hopefully special moments with loved ones. Now that summertime is approaching, it’s time to enjoy the sunshine and get outside with intention.
Here are four reasons why it’s important.
• We need our Vitamin D. It’s easy, especially for those of us working from home, to stay inside all day. It is important to get outside every day for our Vitamin D intake. Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, which are needed to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy.
Recommendation: One of the best ways to get Vitamin D is to be out in the sunshine. If you can spend even 10 or 15 minutes per day outside in the sun, you’ll get that Vitamin D intake and you’ll feel so much better. Just don’t forget your sunscreen!
• While you’re getting Vitamin D, you might notice that you feel more creative by being outside. Have you ever been out in nature when an idea suddenly popped in your brain? There’s a study by Stanford University that says that walking can help increase creativity by up to 60 percent!
Recommendation: As PR professionals, we are constantly brainstorming new ideas. Next time you need to get creative around strategic planning or writing new story angles, get outside with a pen and notebook that fits in your pocket, get moving, and get those juices flowing.
• Being outside can reduce stress and anxiety. Spending time around trees and nature helps reduce my stress, makes me feel less anxious, and ultimately puts me in a better mood. There’s research behind this as well!
Recommendation: This summer, identify parks, forests or greenspaces that you can access within minutes so you can take a call or spend a well-earned break by yourself. Not near a park? Find a nursery or garden center close by. You will thank me later!
• New research from Microsoft titled “Research Proves Your Brain Needs Breaks” has shown that joining fewer back-to-back video meetings can have a positive impact on your stress levels. This means that for every meeting you have on video, the following should be audio-only. And what better way to conduct such a meeting than by being outside!
Recommendation: Every week, look ahead to your series of meetings. Identify those meetings that are on video and turn as many meetings as possible to audio-only. Also, schedule short breaks to reduce as many back-to-back meetings as possible. Do it not just for yourself but for your participants as well.
Have a wonderful summer, everyone. Be safe. Be kind. Be well.
Lessons in Empathy From ‘Ted Lasso’
Oxford Dictionary defines empathy as “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.” The last few years have shed light on the importance of experiencing empathy and appreciating those who show it to us.
There are numerous examples of leading with empathy, but leave it to an episode of the award-winning television series “Ted Lasso” to deliver a fantastic piece of empathic leadership advice and its positive impact on our mental well-being.
“Ted Lasso,” a comedy-drama show about an American football coach who overnight becomes a manager of a Premier League soccer team in England, touches on leadership in a surprising way for such a show steeped in laughs.
One example is when the club’s marketing and PR manager (Keeley) is nervous to tell her boss (Rebecca) she is leaving the organization to start her own firm. Throughout the show, Rebecca gave Keeley more responsibilities, which ultimately led to going out independently.
Before telling Rebecca this news, Keeley spoke with a trusted adviser and another senior member of the organization (Leslie). When Keeley mentioned how nervous she was to tell Rebecca, Leslie shared a valuable lesson.
“A good mentor hopes you will move on,” Leslie said. “A great mentor knows you will.”
And when Keeley ultimately told Rebecca she was leaving, Rebecca couldn’t have been more excited for her. She knew it was time for Keeley to move on.
Seeing the perspectives of others
Great leaders know that great employees will move on to different challenges at some point and are mentally prepared to handle the news. They can understand and share their feelings about how and why their employees made that decision.
This is a sign of empathy and one of many examples we see from “Ted Lasso” on the importance of seeing the perspectives of others.
According to recent research, “possessing empathy is crucial for good mental health as being able to connect with others and share enough of yourself to feel connected in return adds immeasurably to relationship happiness.”
Today, employees are showing more confidence in how they want to advance in their careers. Leaders, despite all your best efforts, your best employees will at some point hand in their notice. How you respond and how your company responds and treats your employees when they leave is the impression THEY will have of your company and YOU. And for the remainder of their career, they will only remember how they felt when they left.
Empathy enables us to give and receive grace, have honest conversations with our employees (and our bosses) about our human experience at work, and encourage improvement and growth. Demonstrating empathy will have a lasting impact and help shape your relationships for years to come.
As I say to employees who leave, I give the same advice to employers and leaders: Take the high road. Your employees will never forget how they were treated when they left.
By the way: Watch “Ted Lasso” on Apple TV. It’s truly worth your time.
The Letter to Our Future Self
An essential role of the PR professional is that of the storyteller. We design and share the voices of those who otherwise are not heard.
This month, I’m asking you to write a letter to yourself about how you want to feel 12 months from now.
What are the benefits of writing such a letter?
In an era in which many of us have focused on the near term, this is an opportunity to shift attention to the long term.
Studies show if you take pen to paper and physically write a letter (vs. typing), you’ll commit to it better.
This process will have specific elements that you can look through every personal and professional decision and ask, “how does this fit into my story?”
It sharpens your writing skills! By practicing this exercise on yourself, writing your own story can help shape the stories you tell of others.
What should your letter include?
How do you feel about your well-being today? Use action verbs to paint that picture.
How do you want to feel one year from today? Describe a scenario that you want to experience because you made a change.
Why do you want to feel that way? This is the most critical part of your letter!
What are the tactics you will take to make that change? Focus on what is in your control.
How will you take the time to make that a reality? What steps will you take to focus on your well-being when you’re the only one who controls your time?
Whether it’s work- or family-related, something will get in your way. What are some examples?
How will you overcome those challenges? What is your Plan B in case things don’t go your way?
How will you hold yourself accountable? Will you identify friends, family, coaches, mobile applications, or other methods to stay accountable this year?
What do you want to happen because of this change ultimately?
How should you use this letter?
When making choices about your professional future. How does your career support your letter? When speaking with prospective employers or exploring other career options, are you keeping in mind your letter?
When you’re saying “yes” too many times. The next time you’re taking on extra projects or activities, look at your letter before committing. How will taking on more impact your well-being?
When you’re lacking focus or direction. Throughout the year, you will find yourself in a lull. Pulling out this letter at least once per month will help remind you of where you want to go.
This story is an opportunity to ensure you’re honoring yourself the way you deserve.
Because that’s the most important story of all.
Tips to Improve Employee Well-Being
Data shows that employees who perceive their companies as transparent have 12 times greater job satisfaction than those with the opposite perception. And greater job satisfaction impacts overall well-being.
But what do companies need to share with employees? Recent survey data from Axios of more than 1,000 people about workplace communications suggests that employees want to see leaders send more thoughtful and insightful details, with more frequency and consistency.
Here are five practical and actionable ways for leaders to help reduce stress and anxiety across your organization.
1. Ask your employees how they like receiving information.
Some employees may not have access to a computer all day, so how will you reach them? Does your company centralize its employee communications, and if so, to what effect are your employees accessing those channels?
2. Emphasize the impact of information sharing.
Often, we are the translators between executives and employees. Your C-suite is thinking one quarter but 3-5 years ahead. They are constantly speaking with customers, other industry leaders and members of the public sector, all while ensuring the right balance between the needs of their employees and meeting the business objectives.
This knowledge can ultimately benefit employees, which will help the company. To start, ask for 15 minutes once a month with your executives as part of a story-mining session to discover the three most insightful things they have learned.
3. Be more frequent with your communications.
If your executives are going months without meeting with their employees, then the perception is that there is something to hide. Increase the frequency and start small. If your executives meet with employees quarterly, then recommend expanding to twice per quarter.
4. Communicate in a way that is shorter, jargon-free and impactful.
Help your executives practice keeping their messages tight and understandable. Our role is to help them use words to communicate so employees understand, not for them to impress with unnecessary vocabulary. For emails or newsletters, research suggests a range of 75-100 words. Will your audience understand your message within seconds? That’s the test!
5. Be more consistent.
The more consistently executives share their messages with their employees, the better. This includes the communication style and channels that your executives will use. And executives shouldn’t be afraid to repeat and to reinforce their messages.
Finally, measure the impact regularly and share the results with your leaders.
Changes will take time and will require trial and error to find a solid rhythm. But just like the rhythms you create for your external audiences, we also address them for our internal publics.
These recommendations are examples, but a tailored communication strategy — backed with first-party data — will bode well for the relationship between leadership and its employees.
Your Personal Wellness Crisis Plan
As PR professionals, we are trained for managing a crisis. As we have lived through COVID, I have witnessed you lead in communicating timely, accurate, and essential information to the public, and that information has saved people’s lives.
As we are witnessing vaccination rates increasing through the spring and summer, it’s time to turn our attention to ourselves. Because we have been spending so much of our mental and physical strength writing, rewriting and executing crisis plans for our clients and our organizations it’s time to focus on our well-being.
How? Let’s start with applying techniques we already use when writing crisis plans for others and apply those to ourselves. Let’s design our wellness crisis plan.
Why do you need a personal crisis plan? Think back to the times you told yourself you wanted to go on a run or a hike, or make time eating healthier meals and for whatever reason, it just didn’t happen. It could be because you received an urgent call about a work crisis, or you spent that time with your children to help with homework, you felt sick, or something else got in your way to not allow you to do something that was going to better yourself mentally and physically
This happens to all of us. Especially in the COVID-19 era, we have managed a lot of obligations in our personal and professional lives. I want to empower us to take the know-how that we have in developing crisis plans for organizations and know how to apply those same theories for ourselves.
Because much like work crises, how we respond to the crisis is the most important factor.
Here are three things to think about when it comes to designing your crisis wellness plan.
• Prepare for the worst. Are you looking forward to that exercise class or healthy meal you’re making time to prepare? I want you to think about various scenarios in which you might get held up from following through. What is going to get in your way?
• Anticipate how you’ll react. Write down how you might react when you can’t make it to that class or create that meal. Are you going to feel frustrated or upset? Will you feel like your day is ruined? Or will you be prepared to say, “that’s OK,” and give yourself some grace. If you can prepare for disappointment or frustration now, then you will be better prepared to manage it when it happens.
• Design your Plan B. Lastly, write down what you’re going to do when you can’t do what you originally intended. For instance, if you are planning to go to yoga this evening and either the class was canceled or you had a last-minute personal or professional conflict come up that impacted your ability to attend that class, what are you going to do instead? Are you going to tell yourself “that’s OK. I’m going to take the next one”? Or, “OK, I’m going to go walk around the neighborhood without my phone and take in some fresh air.”
Like the crisis plans we help create for our organizations, thinking about our wellness plans in advance will set us up for success when things don’t go our way.
The Well-Being of the Client-Agency Relationship
The pandemic has helped humanize all relationships in our profession including the one between agency and client.
As someone who has led more than a dozen account teams throughout my career, I know firsthand the importance of having perspective on the blending of personal and professional lives our clients are going through. I also know the challenges that agency leaders and their teams have daily.
Shared challenges of working from crowded homes, sharing constrained resources with partners and spouses, taking care of children and parents, and adopting pets have helped bring together clients and agencies like never before.
Start a conversation
Heading into the new year, a new set of client and agency relationships will form. Contracts will be signed, and both parties will be excited to start the partnership on the right foot.
As a part of those new partnerships and strengthening existing partnerships, I strongly encourage my corporate- and agency-side friends to have a transparent discussion on day-to-day work expectations. Having a practical and actionable dialogue will help reduce stress, anxiety and turnover.
Four ways the senior client lead and the senior account lead can drive a discussion on this topic include:
• Shift the mindset of “us and them” to “we.” My most successful client relationships were those in which the clients honestly thought of our teams as a true collective. The onus is on both the client and agency leaders to set a standard that this is a single unit.
• Share the realities of the client and agency team members’ schedules. Due to several people leaving their companies and joining new ones, this is an opportunity for clarity around core work hours across the collective team. Do the client and agency have similar approaches to remote and hybrid work expectations? If not, how can adjustments be made?
• Establish clear guidelines on why meetings need to be scheduled. Is there a clear purpose? Is a pre-read sent ahead of the meeting? Is it a 60-minute meeting when a 25-minute meeting will do? Do all members of the client and agency team need to participate? Can they otherwise be working on projects? Are there expectations around having cameras on during meetings, which, while essential to establish rapport, can be draining if used too often?
• Determine the primary channel(s) to which the client and agency teams will communicate. Will the agency use the client’s standard tools (Microsoft Teams, Zoom, etc.), or is the client looking to the agency to establish norms for the business?
Building a healthy relationship between client and agency is essential to establishing a consistent, productive and mutually beneficial partnership. Setting expectations in place that can positively impact the well-being of the collective team members will significantly impact the relationship in the years to come.
A Proactive Approach to Taking Earned Time Off
Heading into springtime, many of us are thinking about ways to enjoy time away from meetings and deliverables. Unfortunately, recent data shows we are not entirely using a vital employee benefit: getting paid not to work. Brand-new research from the U.S. Travel Association says in 2021:
Only 25 percent of Americans used ALL of their earned time off.
American workers left an average of more than four days or 29 percent of their paid time off (PTO) on the table.
More than half (53 percent) of remote workers work more hours now than in the office.
In an era in which we’re seeing companies attempting to offer four-day workweeks and unlimited paid time off, without a structure in place, issues of burnout will continue to soar.
Beyond the data, we continue to have the following perceptions:
“It looks good to the boss if I’m available 24/7.”
“My boss never takes a vacation, so I won’t either!”
“If I take time off, I’ll have to do more work in less time.”
This month, I challenge you to take a different approach to your time off. Don’t expect your manager or human resources department to micromanage how much PTO you have remaining. Set your boundaries and take your earned time off!
Here are some actionable tips on how to use your earned time off.
Create your proactive system.
In my PR career, I used a 6-3-1 approach. I would take a week off every six months, every three months I’d take a long weekend, and every month I’d take a half day or full day. Setting this in my calendar gave me the confidence I will use my time off and set boundaries with my colleagues, managers and clients. Design a system that works for you.
Set yourself up for a stress-free time off.
At least one to two weeks before your vacation, create a pre-vacation priorities plan. The process is as simple as getting out a piece of paper and sorting your priorities into four categories:
Pre-vacation priorities: what must be done before you leave, and how are you making time for these priorities?
Delegate: what project(s) will continue while you’re away, who is your proxy, and do they know what they need to execute?
Post-vacation priorities: what are your work priorities when you return, and when will you work on those priorities?
Delete: what is NOT a valuable use of your time or anyone else’s time?
Additional tips before you leave on vacation:
• Block out at least 1-2 hours in your calendar for your first day back. This time is for you to review your email inbox and get caught up before diving into meetings and other activities.
• Build in a recovery day. If you’re traveling, the stresses of doing so on a Sunday before going back to work on Monday won’t make you feel refreshed. Consider leaving for home 48-72 hours before you return to work.
• Ask your team to send you a “while you were away” email. I always appreciated a “what you missed” email when my teams shared immediate highlights, issues and questions I should start reviewing upon my return. And I worked with my teams to return this in kind when my colleagues were away.
This approach will empower you to take the time off you deserve guilt- and stress-free. Now, get planning and enjoy your vacation!
Thank You, PR Heroes
It’s 10:57 p.m. on a Thursday. You just put your kids down to bed. You also want to go to bed, but first, you need to review the materials for tomorrow’s new business presentation.
News alerts keep popping up about shifts in mask mandates. You don’t know if you’re taking your kids to school tomorrow or keeping them home — you’re emotionally all over the place.
It’s been nearly two years since the pandemic started. And, despite all the challenges we’ve faced, I’ve never been prouder to be part of this family of PR professionals.
I’ve heard from so many of you facing scenarios like these and the following:
You’re telling your colleagues you must drop off the conference call so you can drive you and your family to get tested for COVID, but not before begging them to schedule a mental day off for themselves.
Your electrician is coming over to turn your closet into a home office, so you take your 10:00 a.m. call in your child’s playroom while helping them set up their Lego set.
You’re in your pajamas, filing for your business license online, launching your first public relations consultancy, all while calling your parents to make sure they are feeling OK after taking their COVID-19 vaccine earlier that day.
You’re pacing in your apartment, trying to understand a confusing response from your manager on how to update a blog post draft, distracted by what seems like minute-to-minute emergency alerts on the cable news channels you need to follow for your job.
You’re on your laptop at the dining room table, working with your executives on messaging that must be delivered strategically, ethically, accurately, and timely to your employees; tens of thousands of corporate and front-line workers who need to know about remote work, COVID-19, and other policies that will impact their life indefinitely.
You’re baking a batch of blueberry muffins in the kitchen, covered in flour while trying to process how to respond to the fifth request this week to make a corporate video go “viral.”
You’re feeding your newborn their first solid foods while reviewing the seventh version of “that” press release because the spokesperson wants to “uplevel their quote” (whatever that means).
You’re graduating from college, disappointed about having to spend graduation day in front of a laptop but eager to host as many informational interviews as you can until you land your first job and launch your career.
You’re managing your school’s Facebook page, responding to frustrated parents who want answers on COVID mandates. Answers that you want as well.
You’re trying to process the loss of a loved one who recently passed away while keeping your cool as you prepare to host an important press conference.
I’ve never been prouder to be a part of this collective of trusted advisers.
Thank you for all your thoughtful and dedicated work through a turbulent time.
Most of all, you have done so with a level of empathy and humility that is truly inspiring.
You deserve a sweet treat or three and a little time off this holiday season. Just don’t forget to sweat a little in-between your meetings, OK?
It’s been an honor serving as the Workplace Wellness columnist again this year. I look forward to seeing you in 2022!
May you and your families have a safe, happy and blessed holiday season.
The Shared Opportunity to Impact Our Well-Being
Ensuring our profession is thriving is dependent on each of us to stay emotionally, financially, mentally and physically healthy. Every member of our profession must play a role.
Creating a support system
I remember as a college graduate just being excited to land a job! I didn’t worry about how much work I’d take on or about the possibility of burning out. I was just happy to start my career!
If you’re a recent college graduate starting your career, think about ensuring you have the right support system as you’re transitioning from student to professional.
Find a small group of mentors (literally thousands of PRSA members will raise their hand to be yours) to support you through this process. They have been where you are and would love to share their learnings.
Once I became a people manager, I went through several personal transitions. Buying a house, getting married, and other major life decisions coupled with new professional responsibilities were a lot to tackle!
If you’re a newly minted people manager, consider how these added responsibilities require a new approach to working every day. It’s essential to adjust your approach to continue to focus on yourself.
Finding a balance
Finding the balance between managing your personal growth with the responsibility of mentoring your team members’ growth can be tricky. One thing to think about: How will you build trust and delegate activities to others so they can grow and reduce your workload?
As I grew in my career and started to lead multi-matrix, global PR account teams, I realized how much people modeled how I showed up every day. The energy I brought and the tone I set impacted every team member, from interns on up.
We all need to play a role no matter what stage in our career we’re at.
It’s an honor to play a role in this profession as well. Thank you for the opportunity.
Be safe. Be kind. Be well. Have a fantastic summer!
Reversing Toxic Positivity
In the PR profession, it can be easy to focus exclusively on having a positive mindset. The issue with that mindset lies when we are working with those who are going through personal or professional challenges.
While with good intentions, phrases like “They’re in a better place now,” “Get on with it,” and “Positive vibes only” can cause more harm than good. These phrases are examples of toxic positivity, defined as “the belief that no matter how dire or difficult a situation is, people should maintain a positive mindset.”
If you’ve been a recipient of toxic positivity, it could have had a negative impact on your mental health. In short, overcoming toxic positivity is about reading the physical and virtual room. As business leaders, we not only need to recognize our own emotions, but also those of our colleagues and clients as well.
How can we reverse toxic positivity? Here are three ways.
Understand and communicate our emotions.
Much like a heartbeat or breath, an emotion is a physiological experience to give you information about the world. Research from UC Berkeley says there are 27 human emotions. From admiration, boredom, and calmness, to disgust, fear, and surprise, how we feel and communicate these emotions is critical.
When we recognize these emotions more profoundly, they can positively impact our personal and professional relationships. Understanding and expressing our feelings is fundamental to having good mental health.
Next time someone asks you how you’re doing, particularly during a challenging time, go deeper by examining and sharing one of the emotions identified.
Be vulnerable by saying “I don’t know.”
We are often quick with our responses. As leaders, problem identifiers and solvers, we feel under pressure to have all the answers. We don’t have all the answers and can’t solve all the problems!
We must respect ourselves enough to say when we don’t have a reply to a question. We must stop putting pressure on ourselves to have answers to all the questions.
It’s also a sign of vulnerability; a positive trait people look for in leaders. Saying, “I don’t have all the answers,” or “I don’t know,” is incredibly powerful and ultimately shows leadership.
Have a social media pause plan in place.
Consider pausing your brand’s social media channels when a local, national or global emergency occurs. The last thing your fans and followers want to see in their feed during a crisis is a sunny, cheerful post about an upcoming sale.
Social media community management tools help ease the challenge of scheduling content. However, if you use an automated scheduling tool, please make sure you have a pause plan in case of an emergency.
Installing these recommendations will help retain and grow your relationships, even during the most challenging times. Be safe. Be kind. Be well.
Well-Being’s Place in the Employee Experience
The pandemic accelerated what was already a critical topic in our profession; how will we, as PR leaders, act as trusted advisers while ensuring our well-being is a priority?
In the beginning of lockdown, we focused on survival. We took virtual yoga classes, wine tastings, and art classes, among other activities to stay active and connected.
Then, in-between COVID variants, came the off/on switch of staying at home and going to the office. At the same time, the economy was doing well, the job market opened up and employees were leaving for greener pastures.
Now we are in an awkward phase of balancing the flexibility and balance of working from home with the social and relationship-building benefits of working in person.
This sudden change has caused us to reexamine how companies are providing the right benefits and well-being support to their employees. And employees are taking that information and comparing it to prospective employers.
One thing is for certain: The pandemic has permanently changed the relationship between employees and employers.
Questions for employers
The employee’s experience at their company needs to be designed with their emotional, financial, mental and physical well-being closely in mind. That experience starts with the website, the job description, and recruiter interview, continues through the hiring, onboarding, and training process, and will ultimately be examined during employee satisfaction surveys, exit interviews, Glassdoor ratings, and the company’s financial reports.
Employers need to consider the questions employees are asking themselves:
• How is my life positively impacted because I work for this company?
• Money is and will continue to be the primary compensation for employees. However, we’ve witnessed people leave jobs for others at a reduced salary or stay at their companies at the cost of earning more elsewhere. Why?
• Does my manager care about me as an employee? My company places a lot of emphasis on C-level support and participation in well-being practices. From audio-only calls to email-free vacations, we continue to see members of the C-suite promoting this through internal communications and on social media channels such as LinkedIn. However, if my immediate manager doesn’t model this behavior, how do I empower myself to follow the path that’s best for my well-being?
Finally: Will addressing the above questions positively impact the company’s business goals? Let’s not dance around the obvious; companies have business goals they need to meet. Any initiative needs to have business goals in mind. Recommendations need to be research-based through first-party quantifiable and qualifiable data from your employees, designed with measurable objectives in mind, and paired with relatable, practical, and actionable tactics that will benefit the employee and employer.
This is a new era in the relationship between employee and employer. I look forward to seeing how this evolves in the coming months and years.
Be safe. Be kind. Be well.