. . . on Media & Public Engagement

As an Executive Coach, my clients often ask me to share ideas about various topics so they can learn what they should be paying attention to. Here are some of my thoughts on media and public engagement.

Toxic environments

I want to draw attention to an important intersection between media and public engagement, and mental health. If you are working on your situational awareness skills, you are probably keeping track of the social media accounts of the politicians you serve and their constituents. This information will help you anticipate and advise when you are called to provide an opinion.

Unfortunately, the social media world can be quite harsh these days and I am hearing from clients that they and their staff have varying degrees of resilience when it comes to a steady diet of sometimes toxic information. The same is true for the general public – the people you encounter during public engagement events may be struggling with their circumstances and not at their best. This means that you will need to add mental health to your scanning - for your team, the leaders you support and of course for yourself.

Understand your own mental health

As a survivor of depression, I don’t think the topic of mental health is as widely discussed as it needs to be, though progress has been made. As a public servant, you are uniquely positioned to lead the way for the rest of society. And as a leader, it is important for you to understand and monitor your own mental health and that of others on your team. Doing so will help you ensure that proper care and treatment are provided with compassion and the impact of potential productivity losses is mitigated.

When your mental health is strong

When your mental health is strong, you feel resilient and can recover from difficult events quickly. You have the ability to recognize the signs of mental health challenges in others and know how to deal with those situations. You take steps to get proper rest and personal support when you are away from work. Your boundaries between work and life are clear. You practice self-advocacy. You can adjust to absences due to mental health challenges of staff and know how to manage successful returns to work. As a leader, you guard against circumstances which could result in burnout: misalignment of work expectations, unstainable workloads (over 50 hours a week), mission exposure risk for front-line staff, harassment, and poor work culture. Burnout can be a precursor to mental illness.

When your mental health is not strong

Mental health issues can manifest in various ways, including anxiety or depression. Anxiety can be described as an ambient physiological feeling of unease or even fear. It can produce a variety of counterproductive behaviours ranging from hypervigilance at one end to ‘autopilot’ at the other. For those whose anxiety may be bordering on depression, you may notice more frequent over-extended behaviours (even too much of a good thing) or over-functioning, which can manifest in longer than normal hours. Those suffering from depression may be less able to concentrate, have memory loss or forgetfulness, a sad affect or expressions of hopelessness/apathy, fatigue, interrupted sleep or dietary patterns and/or irritability. It may take them longer to finish tasks, and their work may not be as complete as before. It is important to remember that mental health challenges are no more a sign of intellectual weakness than physiological ones are. Both can be life-threatening, and both need to be taken seriously.

Maintain a network of supporters

Creating and maintaining a network of supporters (a coach, mentor, confidante, colleagues etc.) who can tell you when your behaviour seems out of the norm is very important. Mental health issues are serious medical issues, so you will need to talk with your doctor, who may recommend some time away from work and some combination of medication, counseling, exercise, meditation, rest, time in nature etc. A key element in treating depression is time – healing the brain cannot be forced; it must be allowed to heal. For this reason, the return to work process must be handled with extreme care to avoid relapse – a common experience for high-energy leaders.

Working with central communications units - provincial & federal

Something else that often comes up in coaching conversations has to do with central government communications units. Here are a few things to consider:

• Central communications units are an important piece of the system. Politicians need to have a solid relationship with them as they will provide guidance and advice that helps them respond to issues. The senior public servants will often brief the politician first, and when they leave the room, the central communications person is still there.
• Central communications units may fly at a 50,000-foot level, while Ministry/Department staff are at the 5,000-foot level. Both groups need to work together on some stories – information about the gritty details and what the remediation might be should come from the Ministry/Department.
• Senior public servants need to build a strong relationship with central communications units. It's important to educate them and pay attention to their point of view. They will watch Facebook, Twitter and news outlets and can help follow the story. They may hear new things before anyone else. They may know who else was interviewed etc., so that you can be prepared for other questions that might come up.
• It is their job to construct the answers to the questions in a way that will resonate with reporters and the public. Communications staff are really important because they remind us that there is an audience for what is being said and how the message is delivered is important.
• The best way to work with the communications staff is to build a relationship and trust each other’s judgment. It can be very frustrating when those relationships aren’t working well. You need to understand what communications people need so that you can deliver it.
• You want to solve problems for them by providing them with accurate information as quickly as possible. What are the issues as they see them? What are the pressures they are feeling? How can you frame your response to help them? You have a lot of specialized expertise that you want to make available so that they can understand, structure, and communicate to the right people, at the right time, via the right channel. The more they understand your business, the more nimble they can be if or when things go wrong.
• Central communications jobs are challenging and can wear people out - especially if there are ongoing issues with difficult messaging or a difficult politician. Support your communications colleagues by providing them with as much advanced notice of issues as possible, structuring your requests clearly, being reasonable about turnaround times, respecting their expertise and guidance, and standing by them when things go wrong.
• Media management is a skill, and media coverage can be affected by who answers the phone or delivers the message. Do everything you can to retain those staff who have developed good relationships with the media.
• Central communications staff are most effective when they are at the table when tricky issues are being discussed. By bringing them in early they will have the contextual insight required to position and communicate the story swiftly, accurately, and in a way that reflects best on your organization. Bring them in as soon as possible.

Work with your coach

Your coach can be part of your support unit if you or someone on your team suffers from mental health issues. They can help you find ways to stay grounded and provide you with access to guidance and advice on how to handle these situations. They can also help you make the tricky decision to take personal time off and then help you manage your return to work.

Ingrid Bergmann, Executive Coach & Co-Founder of Inside Public Sector Leadership. For more real advice and leadership tips on succeeding in the public service, explore our programs at www.publicsectorleadership.ca