Why focusing on clarity will help you have a bigger impact as a public affairs leader.

Do you get frustrated because your team doesn’t produce what you’ve asked for??

Are team meetings painful because you leave not understanding why problems have still not been resolved??

Have you found yourself spending too much time revising your team′s work??

Does your own manager misinterpret what you are trying to achieve and remain unconvinced about your strategy for different issues?

It’s possible that you could have a poor-performing team that consistently produces sloppy work, or senior managers/executives who keep missing the point or are stuck in their ways.?

Or, there′s another possibility, which is as a public affairs leader you need to focus more on clarity of thought and strive to get this down to a fine art.

Getting anything down to a fine art takes lots of dedication and practice, but it′s worth the effort. The more clarity of thought you can lead with, the more your colleagues will comprehend what you want to achieve, why and the reason their work is so important.?

You shouldn’t assume your team always understand you

There are everyday signs that give you a clue that you are not being a public affairs leader exemplifying clarity of thought. These clues are invitations for you to pause, reflect and reorganise your own thinking.

Teams will have a look of confusion.

They may say they don′t know what they are meant to be doing.

Their eyes narrow, there′s a frown on their faces and their foreheads scrunch because inside they are trying to work through the confusion of what you′ve just said.

They struggle with completing tasks that you might think are simple.

They wonder what the point is of what you have asked them to do.

The benefits of being clearer

A major reason why public affairs teams can be ineffective is where public affairs leaders haven′t done the mental pre-work to make sure they′ve ironed out their thinking?before?communicating instructions and requests to their team.?

Taking the time to ensure their message, instructions, goals or the context of why they want their team to do something are clearly explained can make the difference between average and great performance. For example:

• Instead of poor briefing papers or disorganised meetings with the Executive team - better briefing sessions and papers that really give them confidence before meetings with politicians and other stakeholders.

• Instead of disorganised events that are disappointing – brilliant events that have a clear outcome and objective and leave stakeholders feeling stimulated and listened to.

• Instead of campaigns that don′t live up to their promise or potential – campaigns that clearly demonstrate how your team will move the dial forward on helping your organisation achieve its commercial or reputational goals.

• Instead of frustrating meetings with internal colleagues whose help you need - smooth and productive meetings with colleagues who clearly understand the information or data or insight you really need to deliver key public affairs objectives.

In the long term, some of the wider benefits of proactively trying to be a leader that demonstrates crystal clear clarity are:

• You will have a team that will be on board and more willing to follow you.
• You will feel more confident that you and your message are being heard.
• You′ll increase the chances that your senior managers will at least have understood why you′ve adopted a particular approach, even if they don′t agree with it or have doubts.
• You′ll be able to evolve into a public affairs leader that spends more time focused on clarity of strategy, clarity of strategy and of tactics, instead of getting lost in the weeds of what your team is doing.

Over to you.

If you are a public affairs leader or aspiring to be one, how will you go the extra mile to develop into a leader who demonstrates clarity?

Whenever you are ready here are 3 ways I can help:

If you want some help developing into a more effective public affairs leader get in contact with me if you′re interested in:

• Working with me through a one-to-one leadership coaching programme that will help you develop.
• My ′How to be a Public Affairs Leader′?training that will equip you with the practical tools to make an impact and influence others. After the training, you′ll have a way to evolve your leadership in a focused way. Get in touch to discuss the benefits that those you have taken part have enjoyed so far, including this client who said:

"Working with Paul has really changed my perception of myself as a leader and helped instil a strong sense of self-belief in me now. It′s also?raised my aspirations about the kind of senior roles I believe I can do in the future as well.?”

• Or if you need support with a current public affairs campaign or a simply a sounding board, let’s talk.

About me

I’m a public affairs consultant and also a coach focusing on leadership, career and personal development.?I've worked for over 20 years executing political strategy and my expertise includes advising chief executives and senior directors on political engagement, designing and executing business-critical political communications and campaigns. As a coach I’ve helped many clients achieve breakthroughs in finding work they love and make breakthroughs in their personal life.