Circle of Fellows

How leaders view the communication function depends entirely on whether communication produces results that matter to them. Delivering that value doesn’t just happen. In the first Circle of Fellows broadcast of 2022, four IABC Fellows explored the various dimensions of communicating for results that matter, from knowing what’s keeping leaders awake at night, the elements of the business and strate...

As the new year begins, before you set your resolutions in stone, ask yourself, “How healthy is the culture of the organization where I work or the clients I serve?” And, with what you learn, consider new resolutions to make a place to work a more welcoming environment for the contributions people want to make and the ideas they want to share. IABC Fellows Alice Brink, Martha Muzychka, Lety Narvae...

As the world struggles with what’s next for the workplace in the wake of the global pandemic, take time to consider your career path as a communication professional. Neil Griffiths, Amanda Hamilton-Attwell, Mary Hills, and Brad Whitworth contributed their thoughts and experience to a Circle of Fellows focused on career assessment and planning, IABC’s Global Standard, strengths, professional develo...

Trust in media and business is not high, according to the latest Edelman Trust Barometer, and public relations practitioners are usually stereotyped as unethical hacks attempting to clean up the image of a person or organization that has done something bad. Yet every communication organization — IABC included — has a code of ethics that...  Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows...

There are dramatic changes afoot among employee populations. The biggest of these are pandemic-related, including hybrid workforces and employees required to adjust to new at-work realities, including continued social distancing and other measures designed to blunt the spread of viruses. In addition, employees are leaving their jobs in record numbers, part of the “great resignation,”.....

During the recent IABC World Conference, Brad Whitworth and Mark Schumann led a highly rated interactive session that examined how we use time to positively impact worlds we hope to change, lives we want to touch, and differences we need to make. Brad and Mark reprised much of that session — joined by Alice Brink and Jane Mitchell — as the five of us discussed what we are doing with our time. Here...

Crisis communication begins long before an organization experiences a crisis. Planning to communicate in a crisis involves considerable preparation, running the gamut from ensuring contact lists are up to date to establishing an organizational culture that is prepared to swing into action when things go south. Organizations that prepare are able to identify most issues before they become crises. B...

What does it take to ensure success, both personally and professionally, as an organizational communicator? On June 17, five IABC Fellows gathered for a live-streamed discussion that explored some surprising elements of success. Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #70: Achieving Personal and Professional Success appeared first on FIR Podcast Network .

Internal communicators have been partnering with Human Resources for years. In larger companies, HR even has communicators of its own to handle messaging about people-related matters. Changes in the workplace have led to substantial changes in HR’s role, many of which are potential flashpoints, which now add external communicators to the mix. Consider the recent news about Basecamp, in which a dec...

Return on Investment (ROI) is a term that is tossed around loosely in some circles. Strictly speaking, ROI is expressed as a percentage determined by dividing the return (or benefit) of a monetary investment by the cost of the investment. That’s not what most communicators measure, yet the industry frequently refers to the ROI of communication. Is that a number that applies to communication? Can c...

Corporate Social Responsibility has never been hotter. With younger workers insisting on working for purposeful organizations, a surge of interest in investment funds that focus on sustainable companies, and organizations embracing comprehensive ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) initiatives, communicators have their hands full. From reporting ESG results (annual ESG reports jam-packed with d...

What does it take to be successful as an independent communication consultant? How do you transition from your current corporate role, with all the support and resources that come with it, to working on your own? How do you drum up business, manage multiple clients, and handle all the administrivia (like contracts, invoicing, accounting, and travel booking) that go along with going solo? How do yo...

By any standard, 2020 was a challenging year for everyone around the globe. Communicators were among those who had to cope with the personal impact of the year’s events while simultaneously coordinating communication to their organizations’ or clients’ diverse audiences — both regular, ongoing communication and crisis-related communication. On Thursday, January 21, a truly global panel of four IAB...

The corporate environment comprises the various aspects of work that affect employees' productivity, including when, where, and how they work. According to Indeed.com, "A work environment is the setting, social features, and physical conditions in which you perform your job. These elements can impact feelings of wellbeing, workplace relationships, collaboration, efficiency, and employee health." E...

For a while, the wave of new technologies offered communicators obvious opportunities to incorporate these new tools into their communication strategies. The introduction of Twitter and Instagram, the rise of mobile use, chatbots, and other technologies that were grounded in communication were introduced at a dizzying pace. Many of today’s new crop of technologies have less obvious communication a...

Four IABC Fellows discuss how to effectively communicate workplace safety. Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #62: Communicating Workplace Safety appeared first on FIR Podcast Network .

In his book, “The Great Game of Business,” Jack Stack introduced the business world to open-book management. The Great Game of Business website points out, “Open-book management at its most effective far outperforms a definition as simple as “sharing financial information with employees”. Open-book isn’t just about opening your financials to your company, it’s about responsibility, ownership, resu...

Episode 43 of Circle of Fellows — back in March 2019 — addressed the communicator’s role in supporting their companies’ diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts. The topic has undergone a dramatic transformation since then and, notably, since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Suddenly, companies that had merely checked the D&I box are revisiting their commitments and introducing mor...

What does it take to launch a communications consulting practice? What should communicators who have never been entrepreneurs know about going solo? Should they bring aboard partners? Staff? Most importantly, how do they become trusted advisers, delivering value, and helping clients drive business results? Four Fellows from the International Association of Business Communicators gathered on July 1...

Internal communication engages your employees and helps ensure they focus their efforts on activities that produce business results. External communication engages your stakeholders and customers, builds your reputation, and sets expectations. When both are clicking, employees are connected to the marketplace and customers interact with employees. Four IABC Fellows discussed the blurring of the li...

You cannot discuss internal communications these days without someone asking about the blurring of the line between internal and external. When done well, there has never been a clear boundary between internal and external, since they are designed to achieve common objectives. When strategized to work together, along with all facets of external communication, this is known as “integrated communica...

Organizations with high-performance leadership are better equipped to develop, maintain, and retain individuals, teams, business units, and the whole organization’s culture. These organizations are also in a better position to manage change. The characteristics of high-performing leadership range from leaders’ behaviors and beliefs to what they say and when they choose to act. The role of communic...

Bosses: True Stories of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly  is a candid and provocative new book in which communication and leadership expert Roger D’Aprix (also an IABC Fellow) asserts that many leaders are ignoring the proper selection, training, development, and ongoing support of the mid-level bosses they entrust to manage company talent. Roger joined four IABC Fellows and moderator Shel Holtz on...

Communications — internal and external — are cost centers. Other cost centers, like Human Resources, have transformed themselves from bureaucratic necessary expenses to vital business partners whose work directly affects business performance. Communications can (and does) have a direct effect on business when managed and measured strategically, but far too many communication functions still focus...

A lot of organizations talk a good game about transparency but when push comes to shove, they can still seem secretive and opaque. Clearly, transparency doesn’t mean making every scrap of information available. Share your employees’ health records and you’ll be subject to penalties under HIPAA (in the U.S.). Reveal plans for product launches and...  Continue Reading → The post Circle of...