How can you use public relations to enhance your leadership skills?

In my experience I have found PR to come in handy in these two key areas: -Stakeholder Engagement: PR helps identify and engage key stakeholders. Build relationships with them to understand their needs and concerns, which can inform your leadership decisions. -Crisis Management: PR skills are crucial during crises. Learn how to handle difficult situations with grace and transparency to maintain trust in your leadership.

I was recently asked why I didn't participate more in a local organization. After careful consideration, I realized that it is because they use "blanket" activities that don't appeal to everyone in their target audience - including me. I suggested to them that with such a diverse group of people, they would need a multi-pronged approach to get more people consistently involved. One-size-fits-all also doesn't work in leadership capacities and applying a similar multi-faceted approach when dealing with team members can work wonders. Leaders need to take the time to really understand the people they work with so that teams can work better together.

The difference between PR and marketing is... Marketing is when you tell everyone how great you are while PR is when others tell everyone how great you are. The standout point there being: third party validation Third party validation in leadership means being the kind of leader that people want to work with, strive for, and remember in the long run. Things like: - Showing you truly care about your team members individually (birthday cards go a LONG way!) - Acknowledging wins and allowing a pause for celebration - Bringing your whole self to work and allowing them to do the same

PR specialists are innate leaders. They have to be as they drive public perception of an organisation or a cause or campaign. Relatable examples include: 1. Image building: PR involves careful curation of public image, exhibiting and maintaining a standard of excellence. Leaders must also carry out this function within their team. 2. Damage control: when there is a public-facing crisis, it falls on PR to get in front and address issues in a strategic way, that maintains the credibility of organisations. This is a key leadership function. A leader should bring the strategy and know-how to navigate murky waters and resolve ijternal and external crisis.

Listening is an underrated skill that directly impacts how well you're able to tell stories. When you listen intently, as a leader or a PR person, you understand what your audience cares about. Stories are a way to connect and without good listening you end up talking "at" people instead of to or with them!

Storytelling is key to great PR as we connect and engage with people through storytelling. The most successful brands use storytelling to share their WHY; why they do what they do, and why they are different from their competitors. In the world of public relations, storytelling isn't just an art; it's a superpower! As leaders, we have a unique opportunity to harness the magic of storytelling to supercharge our PR efforts and connect with our audiences on a deeper level. I found myself that once I moved away from just sharing my knowledge and expertise in my content and included more authentic relevant stories, my interest and engagement increased massively. Stories reassure us that we are dealing with people not just a business!

I am in full agreement with Stories as a pillar to PR. For me stories bring, vividly, the practicality and applicability of things. Stories increase help people connect with whatever concept, vision, objective one was wants to bring forth. They turn a theory into practice help with connection, digestion and assimilation. And for some weirdest reason, people remember stories first and the reaffirms the connection I remember using a story to communicate the importance of giving feedback to me as a leader with my direct reports- discussed the story showcased what had happened and the feedback I was given and change I and the team made after the feedback. Worked like a charm!

Try to focus your story in part around an individual. Lets say its an advancement in health care. Find a patient who has benefited and will talk with the media. Make that person available alongside the experts in the field. For both radio/tv and digital think about pictures and video that will enhance the story. In crafting the media release, keep it simple to understand but make sure you answer the 5W's. Media outlets are stretched so make sure you get their attention with a sharp headline and make it easy for a reporter to follow through to get interviews and media assets.

The core foundation of communications is storytelling. Wherever you look or listen, a story is what makes connections, informs your point, or persuades others to believe your perspective. Storytelling is the base for narratives. The reason we communicate in the first place is because we have a story to tell. The story is the heartbeat of the "why." Throughout my career, I have told people that your story is what sells you. You tell your goals, successes, impact, positive impressions, team, and identity. Your authenticity and credibility are what cement you as a leader. We tell stories to inspire hope and a sense of belonging and establish a purpose. We are storytellers, and as such, we must do so authentically and ethically.

This is certainly important when you are reaching a more localized audience. You should experiment with different platforms until you discover the ones that work best. Never assume you know how your audience prefers to receive the information you are sharing with them. Carefully examine the likes, follows, and other metrics to determine the platforms you should involve yourself with more. This tip will serve you well, especially if you are not necessarily familiar with the area you are moving or traveling to for your job.

It is common that companies have one identical story cross all channels, it is not wrong but it's a little more boring to read the same words again, and it doesn't reflect the distinction between different platforms. For example, LinkedIn is aim for career professionals, thus it may good for a professional essay and a strategic approach. In the meanwhile, social media like Instagram focuses more on social networking, thus a different version of the same story which should be more fun to read through, thus less professional terms and more emotional interactions fit into the purpose better. Together with storytelling and understanding audience, choosing a proper version or from a different perspective of a story can generate greater impact.

Media relations is at the very core of PR, and some PR professionals tend to shift their attention to other areas as they progress and consider media relations a phase they outgrew. Losing connection to media relations is like speaking a language without being able to neither read nor write it.

Reflecting on my journey as a PR practitioner engaged with various stakeholders, incorporating daily 15-minute standup meetings proved invaluable. This strategy not only streamlined communication but also facilitated effective team management and ensured alignment. Just as PR campaigns benefit from targeted channels, leaders can enhance collaboration by adopting tailored approaches like daily standups, fostering a culture of transparency and synchronization within the team.

Public relations efforts must be aligned with core leadership goals and values.Honesty, Consistency, authenticity, and a commitment to personal and professional growth are key to using PR to enhance leadership skills. It's not an one time activity, it a ongoing activity where with time key elements are expertised in life cycle for professional and personal growth.

Leaders who listen create an environment where employees feel valued and where creativity and productivity can flourish. Early in my career I left a non-profit that was doing really amazing work but the leadership didn't generate any discussion between team members. Over time, the work became less enjoyable because two-way communication wasn't generated and my value to the team felt insignificant.

Listening to feedback from fellow leaders, managers, and employees is similar to leveraging qualitative measurement and evaluation tools throughout the course of a public relations campaign. It allows leaders the opportunity to adapt and react differently, demonstrating more flexibility, and fine tuning their own approach to better fit the needs and motivations of their organization.

In my political days, I used to listen carefully to what other candidates had to say. Not to change my opinion, but it helped shape my client's approach. I attempted to carefully put together presentations, and marketing pieces to address the specific audience. Sometimes I was right, but not always. I used techniques that allowed me to test on small percentages of the market before deploying a campaign. I got early feedback from those tests and adapted where needed!

PR has helped me to be a better leader. I work in a government setting and have been able to listen and then respond to the public's concerns, rants, and suggestions, and have used those skills in office leadership. It has taught me how to be more respectful in my responses. You need to allow people to be heard. More often than not if you show them respect, they will do the same for you.

I agree. The true mastery lies not only in the art of communication but in the skill of attentive listening and genuine responsiveness. It is through this two-way street that one can truly demonstrate care, value, and an unwavering commitment to improvement. Leaders come to understand the power of listening, not just to the voices of the audience, but also to the whispers of my team. Their input, questions, and suggestions hold immense potential for growth and innovation. Actively seeking feedback and acting upon it, cultivates an atmosphere of respect, appreciation, and unwavering dedication.

Strong relationships are central to success in PR and business. Instead of "pushing a message" we focus on listening, reflecting, sharing, and growing together. The most successful teams consider the viewpoints of key stakeholders and invite them "into the room" where their opinions are valued when decisions are being made, or strategies and messages are being developed. We need to be humble enough to realize we don't have all of the answers, but confident enough in the work we've done to move forward together. When we focus on continually improving relationships as an indicator of progress, we can ensure our work is headed in a sustainable direction.

Public Relations is much like trust! You work hard to make it positive! And you work to keep it that way. Consider the recent issues with Budweiser! They alienated the majority of their market with a campaign that failed miserably, and there goes the bottom line! Think about a local politician, caught in a lie! Or even Presidents! PR is about relationships, and they must be carefully maintained!

Maintaining relationships is paramount. Don't under estimate this. You are as strong as your last PR campaign. Follow up with those you work closely with to ensure you get honest feedback. Acknowledgement of feedback goes a long way.

Public relations is all about relationship building. As a leader, you must be connected with your team, clients and stakeholders. PR gives you an understanding of what relationships need to flourish from both an internal and external perspective, granting you deeper abilities to build strong connections.

Staff members want to follow someone who knows what they are doing, is credible, ethical and trustworthy. A leader's job is to demonstrate all those qualities in how they relate to staff members.

Be flexible-sometimes the message is not received the way it was intended. Use PR's most used approach, go in with an alternate hook. Recraft your messaging, if the audience is not reacting the way you would like them to.

Incorporate feedback - Just like we use different metrics to measure the success of goals for a campaign, we should look to add different feedback mechanisms in our organization. Examples include: performance reviews, surveys, town halls, after action reviews, open door policy and suggestion boxes. Feedback is important to determine the effectiveness of strategy and to help employees grow. Without feedback, leaders are operating in a vacuum. Using a mix of all the examples above is ideal and will improve communication and trust.

Become a PR advocate for solutions that benefit not only your company, but also the wider industry. You'll bring curiosity to the conversation and gain new relationships and strategic insight as a proponent of solving an issue while positioning your company or clients' expertise.

Effective leaders achieve organizational goals by developing strategies, communicating clearly the how and why, and inspiring others to rally around a common vision. All of that is directly related to and elevated by classic PR skills such as clear, persuasive writing (message design), audience definition, channel selection, and an engaging storytelling style. So, actively use standard PR skills and tactics to lead others rather than assume that others will follow simply because of your place in the org chart. Indeed, this approach can bump you up on the org chart as you get noticed for your ability to build a team, even if it is an informal one.