What would be your advice to a young PR professional suddenly thrown into the role of total leadership/management for the first time?

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First, congratulations. I imagine you have a mix of emotions- from excitement to absolute fear. I would offer you two things to consider: 1) don’t be too hard on yourself. You will make mistakes, learn from them. Leadership is less about knowing everything and more about acknowledging your limitations and enlisting the help and support of others to achieve a shared goal. That brings me to point 2) listen carefully to the strategic challenges that your leadership is discussing and try to identify ways where PR/communications can add value. For instance, is the focus of the org on external reputation, preventing attrition from existing donors, showcasing your purpose? Whatever it is, zero in on the role that you and your function can play in being part of the solution. Hope this is helpful.

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And thank you, thank you, thank you.

Infrastructure (what you don’t see) is extremely important. Do you have the tools you need to be successful at your job? Ex: central file storage, project management software, team expectations, regular check-ins, performance reporting template(s)? Without these, your staff could feel lost, disorganized, or disengaged.

As a leader, you’re now responsible for inspiring your team. Your work related stress has to roll off your back or at least not be visible to your team. Make yourself available but not toooo available otherwise you won’t get any of your own work done.

I’m sure others will have other perspectives too.

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Thank you so much for this advice!

If you don’t know something, simply say that you don’t know the answer and will find out. Smart people see through bullshit. Find a mentor you trust within the organization to help guide you. Never respond to an email if you’re angry, tired, hungry, or frazzled. Take five minutes, deal with the underlying issue, and consider your answer.

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Do a lot of listening before you do any talking. There are land mines everywhere as a leader and you learn from making those mistakes, which are inevitable, and recovering quickly.

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Yesss, I think that’s one of the benefits of ‘beginning’ as a young professional, I know I don’t know everything and I try to be humble and respectful of more seasoned managers to tell me “this is how this works.”

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