Transcript
[00:00:07.250] - Imogen
Hello and welcome to Dear Comms, the podcast where we tackle your biggest corporate comms challenges. My name's Imogen.
[00:00:17.840] - Amanda
And I'm Amanda. We're here to give you practical, no-nonsense advice so you can focus on the things that will really drive influence, engagement and impact.
[00:00:27.140] - Imogen
We had a question in from one of our listeners. They said, I'm desperate to create a real communication strategy, something where I can show value and make a real difference. But it feels like I'm constantly firefighting. How do I carve out the time and headspace to think strategically, or is it just a lost cause?
[00:00:47.730] - Amanda
Well, strategy is never a lost cause. But the problem is, as communicators, we tend to get caught in a repetitive, destructive cycle. We firefight an awful lot. We want to stop firefighting, but we're too busy firefighting to be able to create the strategy to stop it. And if you add in unclear priorities, a focus on output and not outcome, it's no wonder we're all frazzled. You know, our colleagues in marketing, sales, business all develop strategies. So why not comms? I read recently some really horrifying research that suggests 60% of companies don't have a long-term internal strategy or vision.
[00:01:28.940] - Imogen
That scares me, but doesn't surprise me. The thing is, firefighting is part of a comms job, but it shouldn't be the whole job. We all know that strategic, thoughtful, 360 communications is where the magic happens. We know that's where we drive results, where we get our teams aligned, where we build influence, but sometimes it's difficult to put down the hose and make time amid all the chaos to start developing that strategic comms. I think the first thing we can do is we can start to be a little bit more selfish with our diary. That might make you laugh or groan or cry, but the first thing you need to do is be more proactive, give yourself time. Time to think, to plan, to ask difficult questions. I use time blocking in my calendar, so whether I'm writing or reviewing, planning, thinking, admin, it's all blocked out. I treat it like a non-negotiable meeting with myself, because if I don't block out that time, I know full well others are going to take that time away from me.
[00:02:47.790] - Amanda
Usually me.
[00:02:48.990] - Imogen
Usually you, yes. So I protect it. I give myself the space to think. Planning is also something that takes time. We need to start early. You can't pull together a plan for the year in January and expect it to work. You need to start planning in the October of the previous year. So go out and talk to the business. Go and speak to your leaders. Find out what they need. Find out what their challenges are. Look at what their key projects and priorities are for the following year. And once you have all that data, then you can start to really plan things out.
[00:03:29.140] - Amanda
The other thing that you need to do once you've got all this is to do an audit of all your tasks. So go through all of the tasks of you and your team and write them down on a piece of paper. And then what I want you to do is assess them. Against the value your team brings to that task with your expertise alongside the importance to the business. So, what can you influence and what's important to the business? Those tasks which are low value to the business and where you don't add expertise should go. They go into the question mark pile for me. Those with high value to the business and low expertise, low opportunity to influence. They're pretty much the day-to-day things, those standard things that just need to get done. Those that are low value to the business, where you add a lot of expertise, I'm afraid they're your red herring pile. Those are fun things to do, but they're really not going to help achieve your goals or business objectives. And then there's the pile, which is the big wins. So those projects are high value to the business, and where we can import a ton of expertise.
[00:04:47.120]
These are the ones that we really need to focus our time on.
[00:04:49.700] - Imogen
And this simple matrix, a simple process of going through all of the tasks that you do, I think you'll very quickly see that you're spending a lot more time on those question marks and those red herrings than you need to be. The challenge is, is saying no.
[00:05:07.660] - Amanda
Yeah, yeah.
[00:05:08.780] - Imogen
We struggle to say no as communicators. I think we struggle to say no. I think there's something in our personality which means we're people pleasers, a little bit.
[00:05:16.640] - Amanda
Problem solvers, really. We think, you know, we'll have a good go at anything.
[00:05:21.920] - Imogen
Absolutely. But that, that is taking time away from us doing the stuff that's actually going to make a difference. So make it a rule to ask, does this task contribute to achieving the company's strategy? It may feel impossible, uncomfortable to say no, but if you're not going to protect your time, you won't have the bandwidth to work on those things that really matter. And if you're not working on the things that matter, you are never going to be positioning comms as anything more than a service department. So you need to work with your leadership and help them understand that by being more strategic, by taking time to plot things out properly, they're actually going to save time and they're going to get better results at the end of it. It's difficult. I think a lot of communicators feel that they need to take everything on themselves.
[00:06:18.230] - Amanda
How many times have we said to each other, it's quicker if I just do it myself?
[00:06:22.160] - Imogen
Absolutely. You always think it's going to be quicker if you do it yourself. But generally speaking, there are tasks that you can delegate, even if you are a team of one. There are people out there, there are resources out there that you can rely on to do those tasks that always sort of pile up, those tasks which are necessary for the day-to-day business, but are kind of low value in the level of expertise you offer. So, have a think about what can you delegate out? What can you create templates for? Where can you get external support if you have the budget for it? How can we take things off your desk and leave you a bit more space to think?
[00:07:02.830] - Amanda
I think you can also not shy away from sharing your framework or your filters in terms of value to the business and where you can bring expertise, so they know exactly how you're making your decisions on what to focus on, on what to prioritize. So if I'm to sum up the conversation, strategic thinking isn't a nice-to-have, it's absolutely essential to making an impact. And you can start the shift from reactive to proactive by setting clear boundaries, delegating, and perhaps automating. So what can you do now? You're going back to the desk, start small. Look at your calendar and schedule just 1 hour, just 1, for strategic thinking and protect it. And do it at a time of the day where you're at your best, usually in the morning when everything is fresh and before you go through all those, uh, 100 emails that you've got. Review your tasks for the week, what's a priority and what should you say no to? And in fact, the more you say no, I think the more respect comes with that. You're going to know you're on the right track when you're able to carve out that time for strategy, when you're starting to see long-term results beyond the daily grind.
[00:08:21.620]
And quite frankly, when you're spending less time running around like a headless chicken.
[00:08:25.790] - Imogen
Absolutely. I mean, it is possible. It is possible to move beyond the immediate needs and demands of the business. But it has to start with us. It has to start with you, with communications. Until we make that stand and start carving out some thinking time, we are always going to be stuck in this endless cycle of just sending stuff out. Setting boundaries, streamlining our tasks, demonstrating the value of a more strategic approach, we can break free from firefighting and start making a real impact. So start small, but start now, and you'll soon see a difference. And I bet you, your leadership will too. Another week, another question answered. Let us know whether you managed to carve out some time for strategy this week. Let us know how you made that time count. But until next time, goodbye.
[00:09:26.570] - Amanda
See you soon.
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