Why are these posts popular?

Have you ever been surprised when a piece of internal communication you wrote captured the audience’s imagination??

That’s what I felt when I reviewed my recent posts for this Summer Round-Up.?

One of my communication colleagues, Ruth Elliot, used to say that if you want something to be read, include a picture of a pet animal! (Thanks for the tip, Ruth Elliott !)

Here are my three most popular LinkedIn posts this year. While there are no pictures of my dogs (yet!) they sparked an interest. Why do you think that is?

1.A Brit says: ‘Very interesting.’

A non-Brit (maybe you?) hears: ‘They are impressed.’

A Brit means: ‘That is clearly nonsense’

I’m learning from my 1:1 coaching clients who have travelled from other countries to live and work in the UK that navigating British culture at work is a thing.

A common lament is, “You Brits don’t say what you mean! How do I read between the lines?!”

I know many Brits do say what they mean, however it can be very confusing for non-Brits, which is why this tongue-in-cheek chart might make you laugh.

Being a Brit who lived and worked in the U.S. for 10 years and has lived in other parts of Europe, I appreciate the different ways people communicate in different cultures – even if people are speaking the same language.

This has come up in my work with coaching clients whose home countries include the U.S., Canada, Denmark, Italy, Malaysia, and Iran.

A communications role is already challenging; navigating a different culture into the mix adds another layer of challenge.

I find this so interesting (and I genuinely mean I’m interested in it ??)

What’s your experience? Any funny culture-clash moments Any painful ones? Any tips from those of you who have lived or worked with different nationalities?

2.“Nothing will kill a great employee faster than watching you tolerate a bad one.”

Don’t you just hate it when one of your team isn’t pulling their weight and the leader does nothing?

I do. That’s why I love this quote from Perry Belcher, co-founder of Digital Marketer.

This is one of the reasons getting good at giving feedback, including constructive feedback, is important as a leader.

It allows you to say what’s going well and, crucially, be both direct and kind about what is not going well so there are no surprises.

And so you don’t have to let it get so bad that you have to fire people.

What do you think?

3.“Justine. Just keep things moving.”

That’s the advice I got from one of my favourite CEOs, Badar Khan .

It was my first few weeks in a new Communications Director role, and Badar had approved my promotion. One day, during a tough week, he got into the elevator with me and asked, “How’s the new role going, Justine?”

I looked at him and thought, “Should I lie?!”

I decided not to, and said, “It’s been a tough week…”

He replied, “Justine, the thing you’ve got to do is just keep things moving.”

Four small words that made a huge difference.

I stepped out of the lift and thought, “What’s the one next step I could take?” and I focused on that.

I worked with Badar for seven years and absolutely loved the role. I remain grateful to this day!

What advice have you received that helped you move forward?

Thanks for reading this round-up during your summer. I’m curious – what reasons do you think people enjoyed these posts? What do you find useful or insightful about them?

How can I help?

Are you curious about working with a leadership coach who specialises in internal communications?

I can help you make better decisions, build stronger relationships, be more creative and FEEL better.

And you’ll grow your leadership presence and influence.

Take advantage of my free insights & ideas session by emailing [email protected] (no selling, just talking).

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