Becky Robinson's Blog, page 27

How to Have Fun as a Remote Team

We’ve been talking a lot lately about remote teams, everything from staying flexible to fostering teamwork to keeping everyone engaged. All of those are important for developing an effective, productive team of competent remote workers. But what about the less-than-serious side of things?

Having fun isn’t just about being silly and goofing off. Shared laughter leads to better relationships, which leads to better productivity and greater effectiveness in every area. It turns a group of individuals into a cohesive, unified whole.

Remote teams have an advantage in this area, as there are so many opportunities to connect digitally that work for everyone’s personality and lifestyle — introvert or extrovert, busy mom or college student, morning person or night owl. Here are a few of the #WITeam favorites.

Bust out those funny GIF’s and memes.

In my opinion, there’s nothing better than a funny, well-timed GIF or meme to lighten the mood and build camaraderie. Especially when you know the likes and dislikes of fellow team members. For instance, some on our team have a penchant for certain tv shows, time periods, or actors. What better way to lighten up the tone of an oversight reminder than dropping a relevant but seriously-out-of-context GIF with that person’s favorite (whatever)?

“I love sending random, hilarious GIFs to people’s DMs.” – Kelly R.

“I mean, who doesn’t love a well-timed George Clooney Gif?” – Amy D.

Ask fun questions of the day.

It may sound silly, but there’s benefit in taking a step back from work and chatting about favorite activities and guilty pleasures. If nothing else, it helps team members find common ground with each other — so the next time there’s a jaw-dropping episode or new flavor of M&M’s, it provides an automatic way to reach out to others.

“A fun ‘question of the day’ is a great way to get to know other team members from afar. It can be something silly or something personal, something quick and easy, or something that requires a little more.” – Kelly E.

“I love finding out what everyone’s favorite guilty pleasures are, like way too much coffee, an occasional Diet Coke, donuts, whatever it is, when you find those things out, then you really start to get to know a person!” – Lindsey V.

Talk about real-life frustrations and wins.

Learning to listen, encourage, and cheer each other on might not be the most “fun” thing to do, but it can certainly build a sense of togetherness as we become more aware—and more understanding—of what others are going through. Once you find out someone is dealing with multiple kids all going to different schools, or another person is juggling two jobs or lives in a different time zone, it’s easier to accept the difference in work schedules and be gracious and patient with each other.

“I love our daily check-ins (even though I may not do it as much as I would like). They give us a good glance into everyone’s work and personal lives, success and challenges, to help us feel connected as a team and as people.” – Whitney H.

“I enjoy getting to know someone well enough to… drop all of the polite diplomacy and speak openly to get to the heart of little hiccups and daily hurdles. Working from an office alone, in can take some courage to put blunt words in writing, for fear we’ll be misinterpreted. It’s such a relief to find out that colleagues recognize the same issues, and then to come together to come up with fantastic solutions that make the client shine. [And] I enjoy the laughter that ensues, sometimes also. I sit around in my office just cracking up, some days!” – Lori W.

“My favorite way to have fun is to celebrate enthusiastically when something gets accomplished, or someone does something exceptionally well. . . . no matter how large or small they are.” – Mike D.

“I always appreciate the encouraging words and boosts!” – Erica H.

Share fun personal photos.

Personal photos are a huge factor in turning online work relationships into offline friendships! Sharing real (messy) workspaces, pets taking up residence in our laps, kids having fun, vacation spots, milestone events, and anything else that happens in the offline world can truly bring a team together. Coworkers go from being just another name on the screen to real-life, multi-dimensional people.

“I enjoy seeing the diversity from our team, when I asked for pictures for our IG channel, whether it’s summer, what you’re drinking, or who loves/hates fall.” – Carrie K.

“I really enjoy our campfire. Even if I’m just creeping in the background without saying much, photos of downed trees, dirt roads, dogs, and donuts help me get a feel for my colleagues I haven’t met yet (alliteration not fully intended, but what a delightful surprise!).” – Kelly G.

Get face to face, when possible.

Perhaps one the most important tools for building camaraderie and having fun is seeing each other’s faces. Even if it’s just on video chat. You need more than just online avatars or even personal photos. Nothing compares with seeing each other’s body language and facial expressions. Every team has people who are afraid to interrupt and voice their opinion, or those who express more with their face then they ever put into words — but you’ll never know who they are unless you see them face-to-face during your conversations.

“Our group stand-up calls, especially those that are specifically set aside for fun! Remote work can get lonely so it’s nice to see everyone face-to-face and with body language for once. Becky also did a spontaneous ‘water cooler’ talk where team members hopped on a video if they were around. It’s fun to get together chat with no work-related pressures.” – Kristin E.

“Am I allowed to say getting together in person when we are able to? That’s my favorite, hands-down.” – Becky R.

How do you have fun and build camaraderie as a remote team?

2 Secrets of Remote Work

When I first started working with Weaving Influence, I brought the team count up to six. Five of us were married, three had children, and all of us were fairly new to the work-from-home world. Becky’s youngest child was starting kindergarten that first year, and I recall several of our phone meetings taking place while she sat outside the classroom as her daughter made the tearful transition to school. I watched from a distance as Becky juggled running a start-up with being a mom to three busy girls. I knew how busy I felt as I learned the ropes of social media marketing and book launches, and I couldn’t imagine trying to squeeze kids into the schedule.

A lot has changed in the last seven years.

Of that original group of six, only two of us are still working with Weaving Influence. The company has grown up from those early days, as have our families. Becky’s kindergartener will be starting seventh grade this fall, and three years ago my husband and I adopted five kids. After taking a six-month hiatus from Weaving Influence to finalize our international adoption and bring the kids home, I took Becky up on her offer to rejoin the team as a writer and consultant, relinquishing my former role as Book Launch Director. I was on a major learning curve — not only as a new mom of five, but as a working mom. How did this whole thing balance out? And how did all the moms on the Weaving Influence team find time to do it all?

I’ll let you in on a secret: we don’t.

Something has to give. Sometimes it’s saying no to the kids, sometimes it’s saying no to work, and sometimes it’s saying no to ourselves. That first summer was rough. With the kids out of school, I filled our days with week after week of summer camps, which still meant I was eating up 2-hour chunks of my day playing taxi driver while trying to keep the 12-year-old entertained at home. Work didn’t get much of my attention that summer, but the kids did.

Be yourself: no 2 remote workers are the same

You have to find a rhythm that works for you. Summer number two was a definite improvement on the first year. The kids attended fewer camps, I drove a little less and worked a little more, and everyone adjusted to the new norm. We started to figure out what it meant to be a family, developed a new routine, and Mom working became a part of the schedule. I also realized why Becky had always been an early morning worker — the kids weren’t up yet! A few tweaks here and there that summer, and I finally felt a sense that this might actually work.

Above all: be flexible

Nothing in life stays the same. Work responsibilities evolve, kids grow up, parents age — something is always changing, and part of the beauty of remote work is the flexibility it gives us to lean in to what’s most important at the moment. This summer the kids are old enough to follow instructions, and responsible enough to entertain themselves with very little parental involvement. They know that “mom has to work” and that’s become normal for them. And because they are giving me the freedom to add to our family income and say yes to more projects, I’m also learning to be flexible in what I say “yes” to with them — breaking my normal routine to allow for surprise trips to buy doughnuts, having friends over to swim, family movie nights, or stops for a frozen yogurt treat.

Bottom Line: remote working has allowed us to mature as a company, while opening doors of opportunity for individuals who need a little more flexibility in their lives.

Instead of putting careers on hold while we raise children or care for ailing parents, remote work has made it possible for many on our team to continue to do the work they enjoy, while also pouring into those they love. For me, personally, the freedom of working from home has allowed me to establish a fulfilling career while growing as a mom. It’s not something I expected when I said “yes” to Becky all those years ago, but it’s something I cannot put a price tag on now. Remote work for the win!

Scenario Planning for Climate Change

In an age of surprising and devastating climatic trends and events, the need for scenario planning to develop climate change strategies has never been greater. But the prospect of starting scenario planning for climate change can be overwhelming. Previous work on the topic of scenario planning has often focused on large, well-known companies and consulting houses that have a wealth of in-house knowledge about and experience with scenario planning. Similarly, much climate change research has been conducted using samples of large companies.

This week’s featured book, however, shares insights about scenario planning and strategizing for climate change to help smooth this process, making it more accessible to all organizations, with practical step-by-step methods that managers in any organization could use to put together a scenario planning project to develop a climate change strategy.

About the Book

Climate change, and the resultant impact on resource management and societal well-being, is one of the greatest challenges facing businesses and their long-term performance. Uncertainty about access to resources, unanticipated weather events, policy changes, rapidly changing market conditions and potential social unrest is felt across all business and industry sectors.

Most climate change strategy books focus on climate mitigation, addressing how companies can engage with carbon policy, new technologies, markets and other stakeholders about reducing carbon emissions. This book explores these themes as well as strategizing for climate change adaptation, which is equally important, because organizations cannot negotiate with nature. It sets out an engaging step-by-step scenario planning method that executives, board members, managers and consultants alike can follow to develop a long-term strategy for climate change tailored for their business.

This book will help you interpret climate science for business in a way that acknowledges the realities of climate change, and help build the skills to identify ways forward that embrace the uncertainty.

Meet the Author

Nardia Haigh is a business strategist for sustainability issues. For nearly fifteen years, she has been working at the intersection of climate change and strategy. She has taught hundreds of executives and business students how to strategize for climate change resilience using scenario planning.

Nardia’s work appears in outlets including the California Management Review, Journal of Business Ethics, European Management Journal, Organization & Environment, and Business Strategy and the Environment. She has also been cited in media outlets such as the Guardian, Ideas for Leaders, PBS Newshour, and Management INK. Her straight-forward, step-by-step method is now available in her book, Scenario Planning for Climate Change.

Nardia earned her Ph.D. in Business Management at the University of Queensland Business School in Brisbane, Australia. As a doctoral student, she investigated organizational strategies in response to climate change issues. She is a tenured Associate Professor of Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston. ​

Praise from Readers Like You

“A useful step by step guide for all those who wish to manage climate change in their organization. Brings the daunting macro challenge down to helpful concrete steps.” —Christiana Figueres, Founding Partner of GlobalOptimism.com

“Climate change is the ultimate systems thinking challenge. We should be thinking about how climate change is going to affect our communities, businesses, operations and missions. It’s high time we had a ‘how to’ guide for putting a strategic thinking hat on and tackling the unprecedented transformation we must undertake to ensure health, security and economic vitality in a changing world.” — Daniel Kreeger, Executive Director, Association of Climate Change Officer

“The need for scenario planning has never been greater. The January 2019 PG&E bankruptcy was described by The Wall Street Journal as ‘the first major corporate casualty of climate change.’ The same week, David Crane, former utility CEO, said that within two decades Amazon or Google will dominate electricity provision in the U.S. Haigh provides a valuable resource for climate strategists.” — Gib Hedstrom, Author, Sustainability: What It Is and How to Measure It

“Climate related risks and transitions involve large uncertainties and long timeframes that are not often addressed with conventional strategic planning. The book offers a comprehensive, step-by-step process with helpful lists and tables to plan for an uncertain future. Leading an organization through the scenario planning process will not only result in a sound plan, but will increase management’s understanding of the best ways to respond to potential impacts of climate change.” — David Clark, Vice President, Sustainability, Amcor

Learn More

Visit Amazon to buy a copy of the book, or leave a short review of it.
Check out the website for a free chapter and ways to support the book.

5 Ways Remote Teams Can Build Teamwork

Remote work used to be a very rare occurrence, but according to a study by IWG, two-thirds of the workers across the globe now work remotely at least 1 day per week. That’s a staggering number — and it’s growing.

We at Weaving Influence work remotely, too. Some staff members report to our main office a couple of days per week, while many of us work from home full-time. For workers, remote work creates flexibility and greater work-life balance; for companies, it means hiring the right people, not just the closest people. But remote work comes with its own unique challenges. One of the most pressing — how to create a culture and build teamwork with a virtual team.

We’ve come up with a few ideas that work for us. We think they might work for your remote team, too.

Meetings for Relationship-Building

We like to keep our meetings to a minimum, but we added relationship-building meetings just over a year ago and the results have been impressive. Our team feels more unified and communication greatly improved. Each team member now has a brief weekly check-in with their supervisor. They can discuss challenges, brainstorm ideas, or just talk.

We also schedule a monthly all-staff meeting that’s aimed at just getting to know each other. We start with an ice-breaker and then talk about our work with clients, with each other, and even great new TV shows we’re enjoying. It’s brought different departments together and helped our company feel like a cohesive team.

We also do pairings in which team members request time with other team members to learn more about their roles in the company, to cross-train, or to work on a creative project.

Virtual Breakroom

Most team building happens in the breakroom — but when you have a remote team, you have to create a virtual breakroom. For us, that’s Campfires in Basecamp. We’ve used Slack in the past, too. This is where we can have those water cooler discussions about work, life, television, movies, and more. It’s also where our GIF game comes out!

Team Trainings

Not all trainings have to be about the work. We have started scheduling trainings for the team about relationship-building, communication, and other soft skills that we all use in work and life. Coming together in these trainings has helped us deepen our connections while we learn and grow together.

Zoom Calls

While a video call isn’t the same as being there in person, it helps build relationships better than any standard call can. Most of our calls are by video conference so we see each other in our offices and at our kitchen tables, made-up or sweaty post-run. It’s where we show up with each other authentically.

In-Person Events

We attend different conferences and events throughout the year, which is a great time for team members to come together and meet in person. If we’re on personal trips near a team member, we also reach out to schedule time together. Virtual team building is possible and powerful, but in-person time together just deepens the relationships.

The key to remote team building is to be intentional in bringing people together both personally and professionally. One of our authors says teams need to “do life together” and that’s our goal with our virtual team — to show up for each other the way we would if we worked in the same building. It takes effort, but the results are worth it!

How do you foster teamwork in your remote team?

How to Drive Social Engagement During the Summer

Social media is always with us, but you may be surprised to discover our usage is cyclical. As the summer days get longer, we spend more time outside and less time engaging on social media. Now, that doesn’t mean we put our phones down (after all, summer light is perfect for an Insta-worthy snap!). What we do find is that engagement with thought leaders and brands tends to dip in the summer (and again at the end of the year, beginning in November).

We’ve seen this trend play out year after year. We don’t need to fight the low engagement days of summer — instead we recommend you use this time to your advantage.

Here are some ideas.

Launch a summer-themed campaign or contest

Social posting does not slow down, but engagement does. Sharing user-generated content is a proven tactic to boost engagement. With that in mind, we recommend launching a summer series encouraging your audience to share their photos and tag your accounts. Be specific, suggest themes, and offer an incentive — something as simple as resharing their content from your account can be enough. Prizes always get people excited, too.

Experiment with a new content campaign

Since audiences are less engaged with social media this time of year, it’s the perfect time for a content campaign soft launch. Want to try something new? A smaller audience can provide a safe place to experiment. Put the ideas out there in the summer months and collect feedback. If you happen to see increased engagement, you know you have strong content and can roll out the full campaign later when you have a more engaged audience.

Slow your posting cadence

We don’t want you to take the summer off from social media, but do consider posting less frequently during the summer months. Engagement is down, so it can be a great time to slow your cadence and use the extra time to develop a fall campaign, create new graphics and content, or test a new idea.

Increase your posting cadence

This is counter-intuitive, but if engagement dips, increasing content increases the opportunities for people to engage and can drive growth during slow months. It’s not a surefire strategy, but certainly worth testing if you have the time and strong content.

Your engagement numbers will likely rebound come September. In the meantime, use the summer months as a time to loosen up and be more creative on social media, and work on a plan for a targeted fall campaign launch.

What are you experimenting with this summer on social media?

Consequential Communication in Turbulent Times

In an age of great volatility—fake news, diverse audiences, technology at our fingertips, and change at the speed of light—clear, concise, and intentional communication is vital to successful human interaction. Workplace miscommunications, be they well-meaning or not, result in lost productivity, discontent, and even violence. This week’s featured book answers the age-old leadership question: how do we get the best out of ourselves and others on the job?

About the Book

Consequential Communication in Turbulent Times: A Practical Guide to Leadership is Diana’s first book in a series of easy-to-implement guides for organizational leaders. This foundational book focuses on the importance of clearly communicating one’s intentions, and ensuring that he or she is understood.

Relying upon her experiences as a practicing labor lawyer, corporate executive, officer, human resources executive, and an organizational development consultant, Diana Peterson-More has developed actionable, easy-to-implement, and practical steps to successful communication, which is the key to getting what we want from ourselves and others. The volume is filled with stories of workplace communications that worked, and those that didn’t, and presents real-world solutions to ensure all communication will hit the mark.

In response to client needs, the guide captures 15 essential concepts that Diana has developed through her tailor-made training. The stand-alone concepts have dedicated chapters, while aligned concepts appear together in other chapters. Following the principle that good communicators “Tell you what they are going to say; say it; and then tell you what they just said,” each chapter sets out a principle, the “how to’s” for implementation, case studies – real-life communications situations that worked, and those that didn’t work – and then concludes the discussion with tips. The book’s last chapter is a reiteration of all of the tips presented, making it an easy reference tool, and reminding the reader which chapter to review for a more in-depth discussion.

Meet the Author

Over the course of her varied career, Diana Peterson-More has been a practicing employment lawyer, a corporate manager, director, executive officer, and a sought-after consultant and guest presenter. Always she has been fascinated by what motivates herself and others to achieve results, to determine their own unique definitions of success, and then to facilitate a roadmap to get there.

As a young manager, Diana faced the dilemma many confront today. She was promoted because she was a great individual contributor with proven results, and quick on the uptake. Yet she was not trained nor exposed to the fundamentals of supervision and management, and was left on her own to figure it out.

Unhappy at first, and never one to quit (as the first lawyer promoted out of the Southern California Edison Company law department and the first female HR manager, all eyes were on her), Diana taught herself how to supervise, manage and lead – largely by making mistakes and learning from them. Those early days propelled her to self-examination, learning through expert advice, and the school of hard knocks. Along her journey, she received feedback that allowed her to grow from a “tell” boss to the empowering “asking and listening” boss she eventually became, and for whom many wanted to work. Her practice now is helping others learn from her mistakes and to achieve their own unique success.

Praise from Readers Like You

“I particularly benefited from the book’s focus on the art of persuading, the diversity of people’s communication and learning preferences, presenting an issue thoroughly, handling mistakes and understanding your emotions. The practical, common sense instruction and wisdom of this book stays with me and has given me tools to greatly improve my communication skills.” —Ann Vanino, 5-star Amazon review

“Effective leadership cannot be achieved without effective communication skills and techniques. Diana Peterson-More’s book, ‘Consequential Communications in Turbulent Times’ makes and underscores that point exquisitely! The ‘Tips’ posted at the end of each chapter should be memorized and implemented by anyone in a leadership or supervisory role.” —Steve Cooley, 5-star Amazon review

“As a former corporate executive, I was surprised at how easily Diana captured and communicated the workplace basics that allow each of us to work together smoothly, and to get the job done. I recommend this to anyone in the workforce today grappling with the fundamentals of collaborating in a diverse and quickly changing workforce.” —J. Hartung, 5-star Amazon review

“Each chapter in this book offers up a technique – or two – to improve one’s communications in the workplace and in life. With so many generations at work today, the insights are right-on, and I will start to implement the tips over time to improve my working relationships. I recommend others read and implement the suggestions, too. Very powerful.” —Jenn, 5-star Amazon review

Learn More

Visit Amazon to buy a copy of the book, or leave a short review of it.
Check out the website for a free chapter and ways to support the book.

Meet Team Member Whitney Heins

In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve been sharing a whole lot of PR tips lately . . . tips to help you market yourself, whether as a thought leader or author, and guide you to greater success in your interactions with the media.

But the public relations world has a language all its own, doesn’t it? Even as an author and a member of the #WIteam for over 6 years, some of it still sounds pretty foreign to me. So I always love when Whitney Heins, our Public Relations Director, offers to share some practical tips for the rest of us. She has a great way of distilling complex processes into bite-sized concepts that anyone (even me!) can understand and put into practice. I’m excited to have her share a little more of herself with us today!

Meet Whitney Heins

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I live in Knoxville, Tennessee, with my husband, Jake, two kids (Eleanor, 5, and Cal, 2), and two dogs (Riley and Rooney). I’ve lived all over the country, but ended up here because of a TV news job where I served as a morning anchor and reporter for the ABC News affiliate in town. I met my husband and ended up staying because I love him (his job is rooted here in a century-old family business) and because I came to love the slower life of a small city in the South.

What’s the last book you read and really enjoyed? 

I’m guilty of reading many books at once but the last one I finished (not including client books) was A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. It was touching, funny, charming, and beautifully written. And it reminds readers that you don’t know someone’s whole story, and instills a sense of empathy.

Tell us one thing that’s on your bucket list.

I’ve been a runner most of my life, although mostly casually. In the last year, I’ve gotten more serious and am now training to qualify for the Olympic Trials in the marathon this fall. I must run a 2:45 marathon which is about a 6:15 pace for 26.2 miles. I love running for many reasons, but one main reason is because it’s something almost all of us can work hard at to reach the limits of our potential. I’ve always dreamed of seeing how “good” I could be at the sport and see what I’m capable of. Now, I’m working towards crossing that off my bucket list.

How did you get connected with Weaving Influence?

I had Eleanor in 2014, and went back to work at the University of Tennessee in their media relations office. I worked for about a year, but it just never felt right being away from her all day. So I resigned. On my last day of work at UT, a colleague who had worked with our CEO, Becky Robinson, recommended I get in touch with her for some freelance work. Becky and I connected, and what started as a little bit of freelance work turned into a now almost 5-years-and-counting position that I love.

Share a little about what you do, and your favorite aspect of your work for Weaving Influence.

I serve as director of the public relations team. In this role, I meet with clients to put together their media relations strategy, pitch clients to journalists, write media-related collateral and press releases, and oversee the work of our PR team. There are three favorite aspects (among many) of my work that I would like to share. First, I love learning about our clients’ expertise. I became a journalist because I wanted to learn something new every day. I still get to do that and often use what I’ve learned to better my personal or professional life. Second, I love how conscientious, experienced, and talented the #WITeam is. It’s so wonderful working with people who care about the work they do and the people they are doing it for. Finally, I love the flexibility of the job. Being able to soak up almost every moment of my young children’s lives while still furthering my career is truly invaluable. Because of this position I have no regrets. The balancing act can be difficult but it’s incredibly worth it.

Share one tip about PR for the rest of us.

In anything you do for media—written, spoken, whatever—always think about your audience and why they should care. Explain things in a concise and simple manner so that a middle schooler, or your grandma, can understand it.

How can people connect with you?

You can reach me at whitney@weavinginfluence.com, via Instagram at @WhitneySHeins, and on Facebook. I’m also working on an informational and inspirational website for moms who run called themotherrunners.com, set to launch this summer.

Thanks Whitney!! 

Have any questions for our PR rockstar, or want to give her a shout-out for something she’s shared that really helped in your own marketing efforts? Leave her a comment below!

Feedback (and Other Dirty Words)

Feedback. The mere mention of the word can make our blood pressure rise and our defenses go up. But many of our beliefs and ideas about feedback are incorrect and counterproductive, and have been long distorted by our experiences. This week, we’re excited to launch a practical guide to taking the sting out of feedback and reclaiming it as a motivating, empowering experience for everyone involved.

Feedback (and Other Dirty Words)

For many of us, feedback is a dirty word that we associate with bias, politics, resentment, and self-doubt. However, if we take a step back and think about its true intent, we realize that feedback needn’t be a bad thing. After all, understanding how others experience us provides valuable opportunities to learn and grow.

Authors M. Tamra Chandler and Laura Grealish explain how feedback got such a bad rap and how to recognize and minimize the negative physical and emotional responses that can erode trust and shut down communication. They offer a new and more ambitious definition of feedback; explore the roles we each play as Seeker, Extender, and Receiver; and introduce the three Fs of making feedback focused, fair, and frequent. You’ll also find valuable exercises and strategies, along with real-world examples that illustrate how you can put these ideas into action and join in the movement to fix feedback, once and for all.

When it’s done right, feedback has been proven to be the most effective means of improving communication and performance for you and your organization. It’s too important to give up, and with Chandler and Grealish’s help, you’ll be able to use it deftly, equitably, and effectively.

Meet the Authors

M. Tamra Chandler is the founder and CEO of PeopleFirm LLC, one of Forbes Magazine’s 2018 “America’s Best Management Consulting Firms.” She is a nationally recognized thought leader, author, and speaker.  Tamra has spent most of her 30-year career developing new and effective ways for people and their organizations to perform at their peak. In 2016, she wrote the acclaimed book How Performance Management is Killing Performance – and What to Do About It.  Her second book, Feedback (and Other Dirty Words): Why We Fear It, How to Fix It, will be published in June 2019. 

Laura Dowling Grealish is a lead consultant at PeopleFirm known for her passion and conviction to optimize human potential by bringing the human back into the workplace. Laura has more than 20 years of experience working with leaders and teams to enhance performance and connection at the individual and group levels.

Praise from Readers Like You

“This book was super easy to read, practical and encouraging. I started practicing what Tamra calls, ‘The Fine Art of Noticing’ and committed to extend feedback at every opportunity. I’m actually amazed at the difference it has made with my colleagues and clients.” —shelshel, 5-star Amazon review

“As a senior leader, I found this to be a really helpful guide in thinking about how I could be doing a better job of both seeking and sharing feedback more regularly with my team. This is a fast, easy read but full of great insight and tips on how we can all get better at feedback.” —Brooke, 5-star Amazon review

“The CONNECT conversation model is so simple to remember, I find myself recalling it often in conversations both at work and in my personal life. Overall, I highly recommend this book — would be valuable for organizational leaders ready to change the way feedback is sought, extended and received in their companies, as well as for anyone looking to improve his/her communication skills.” —JC, 5-star Amazon review

“This book introduces simple and powerful methods, backed by science to make feedback focused, fair, and frequent. It includes valuable exercises and strategies along with real-world examples that enable the reader to put these ideas into action. The author’s guidance will enrich your relationships both at work and in your personal life and deepen your appreciation of those around you.” —Leslie, 4-star Amazon review

Learn More

Visit Amazon to buy a copy of the book, or leave a short review of it.
Check out the website for a free chapter and ways to support the book.
Join the #fixfeedback movement, and invite your friends to join too!

Why Trade Publications Could Be Better Than the Wall Street Journal

When we ask our clients what their media goals are, many say they want Oprah or the front page of the Wall Street Journal. These are lofty goals — and while there’s nothing wrong with dreaming big, oftentimes such an elusive placement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Oftentimes trade or niche pub placements will better serve your business and your goals.

How can I say this when a mainstream media placement is guaranteed to be seen by millions and boost credibility almost immediately? Because it matters who is reading it.

It is all about quality over quantity.

Target your audience.

The readers of media such as Oprah or the WSJ are going to have all sorts of interests and professions, thus the information they get from you isn’t necessarily going to make them act. PR 101 is that you want those reading your message to do something. If you specialize in, say, diversity and inclusion programs, it is better served for you to have a placement in an HR or management-related pub read by people who work in that space daily and have a vested interest in what you’re talking about.

Street cred.

Trade pubs are consumed by people who are likely the best in the business. Therefore, being cited in one shows that you are credible, legitimate, informed, and even a thought leader. Bonus: many trade pubs are online-only in the form of specialized sites, blogs, and internet radio, where your insights can live on the worldwide web forever and get pushed through these outlets’ robust social channels.

Get past nuts and bolts.

Because the people consuming these pubs speak your language, you can get down to the nitty gritty with your insights. No need to oversimplify your content. You can also publicize news that mainstream outlets wouldn’t give the time of day. This includes republishing press releases and sharing them on social channels. Also, because trade outlets are often short on staff, they’re more open to accepting relevant contributed articles.

More timely coverage.

Pitching a major media outlet can take years to be successful. It requires patience and persistence, and by the time it comes through, the story may be stale or irrelevant. The wait time is shorter for niche media and thus can print timely stories that immediately benefit your business.

All this is to say, no need to let go of that dream to be featured in the WSJ or Oprah, but trade coverage may be more suitable for your immediate goals — and also help you hook that big fish.

What It Takes to Get Into the Wall Street Journal

If our clients had one thing in common, it would be that they dream of being featured in the Wall Street Journal, or a top-tier national outlet of its ilk. But as more people have this dream, the opportunities for achieving it are shrinking.

According to a recent survey, a majority of public relations professionals say media relations is getting harder. The main reason is because as the number of pitches to media is expanding, the number of journalists and opportunities are contracting.

This makes landing the WSJ even more attractive. Its selectivity makes your placement extremely valuable and you automatically credible.

Getting a placement in the WSJ or top-tier outlet isn’t impossible, but it requires a special formula for pitching.

Be part of a trend.

Top-tier outlets aren’t going to report on isolated incidents or anomalies. They want to report on something that affects their readers. What you’re pitching must be newsworthy. After all, you’re likely competing with hot news items like plane crashes or hurricanes or political sparring matches. You need to convince the journalists that your expertise is relevant and part of something bigger. If you can tip the reporter off to something that’s happening on a larger scale, they’ll want to be the one to break the news of the trend.

Find the human angle.

To get in a highly desired placement, you must have a face to put on the story. Almost every good news story starts with a person’s experience or problem, and then moves onto the solutions.

You want to make it as easy on the reporter as possible, so help them put the pieces of the story together. Ideally, you can find someone who was helped by your expertise and someone who has an interesting story to tell. You’ll also want to think about the visual elements. Be prepared to help the journalists find good footage or video to accompany the piece. All this helps the reporter, helps your chances of getting coverage, AND helps you control the story.

Drop what you are doing. 

If you get a call from a top-tier outlet (or your publicist says you landed an interview), drop what you’re doing and take the call. Once I had a client get asked to do an interview with CBS News. The time wasn’t convenient for them and so they lost the opportunity. The media won’t wait around. They’ll move on the next thing or find someone else to interview because they’re working on tight deadlines.

Practice your two Ps—persistence and patience.

It can take more than a year of pitching to land in a national news outlet. Skilled pitchers walk the fine line of between being persistent and being annoying. Checking in every month or two to see if the reporter needs anything is okay. Checking in every to see if that story is ever going to happen is a good way to get blacklisted. When reporters say they’re filing something away for later, chances are that’s true. Reporters have no qualms about telling you they aren’t interested in a story. You must practice patience because you’re on their timeline.

But when they do call, be ready!