Board Member Spotlight

This month we’re introducing one of our newest Board members – Anne Wall.

Anne – first up – tell us why you nominated for the IABC NSW Board?

I’ve loved working in Corporate Affairs for more than 20 years, and it felt like time to give back. Communications as a practice has come a long way in that time and I have immense respect for the practitioners who have proven the value of the function during that period. I think it will evolve more dramatically in the decade ahead than ever before and being part of an international association provides a front seat to global insights. Being able to provide that support to members and to each other is another reason.

What drove you to become a communications specialist, and what communication skills have proved to be the most portable and why?

I grew up on a farm back in the day when rural areas only had access to ABC and Nine (known as WIN), radio and papers. Probably because we were relatively isolated, I was captivated by what was going on in the world and devoured whatever I could get my hands on, including my international dose of news from the Guardian Weekly. I was fascinated by the media, economics and how what individuals and organisations said influenced that. I wanted in!

For me, the most portable communication skills have been adaptability, curiosity and tenacity. They have got me through almost every situation and helped me manage a huge range of stakeholders.

Is there a particular environment that suits the skills and attributes you have and also matches your passion? Can you tell us more about these?

I love change and transformation environments and complexity.  Lots of people want to run away from those situations but I am drawn to them. There’s nothing more satisfying to me than helping people during those ‘interesting’ times; strengthening reputation, shifting perceptions, and driving the change. If you don’t have those aforementioned skills you won’t be as effective in understanding the stakeholders – particularly the detractors, the drivers, coping with the curve balls and preventing burnout.

And as I’m insatiably curious, complexity and variety make me happy as I continue to be challenged and learn (there has to be something in it for me!).

Why is culture so important in the comms space – in a team and in a business? How do communications professionals contribute to enabling cultures to be built?

This is such a simple and yet also such a complex question.

Trust and integrity are paramount for comms in a team and in a business. Without those, you can’t and won’t be successful because you need trust and integrity to be able to work with and for each other, to feel safe to speak up, and to challenge the status quo. Doing what you say you will, not gossiping, being honest and having principles form a fundamental part your integrity and create trust.

If leaders and employees trust communication professionals enough to share their concerns, their issues and their hopes with them, then comms professionals in turn can not only help them but also help the culture - by making recommendations, addressing issues, and creating credible and successful leaders who people want to work with and do their best for. And that plays a crucial part in building a successful organisation.

As a comms leader, can you give us some tips that will lead a team to high performance?

I have now worked with and learnt a lot from some amazing leaders and friends throughout my career. But when you’re on your own journey it can be challenging to consistently put that into practice. Everyone knows that understanding each individual, their drivers, their goals and supporting them with those as much as possible is important.

My personal experience with other leaders has also taught me how important availability and decisiveness are. Helping everyone else have what they need to get their work done is critical.

And, of course, recognising each person in whichever way they prefer which could be a public announcement or a private word of thanks. Understanding what’s going on in their life outside of work and supporting each person holistically.

How have you adapted your communications practices and approaches given the pace of economic, social and technological change, and increased complexity for business?

The foundations will always start with ‘why’ (thanks Simon Sinek!), not just of what you’re saying but why this method, why this timing, why will this be effective?

The silver lining of the pace of change and the insane number of messages everyone receives every day is that it’s made it easier to get leaders to understand that blasting out constant emails, videos and intranet stories is not the most effective way of communicating.

So streamlining comms is important. On the flip side, so is responsiveness to situations.

Understanding your reputation with different audiences is critical as it can change much more quickly than ever before. Having a truly holistic understanding of what the company is doing, and the global and local landscape is important so that you can learn from others and be aware of the inter-dependencies and risks.