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The different perceptions of professional communications
One of Elm’s core service offerings is an operational review. We work with communications teams to identify what’s getting in the way of them doing their best work and what would help them perform more strategically, consistently and sustainably. To be fair, we’re rarely invited in when everything is humming along perfectly. It means what we hear often comes from teams under pressure, stretched thin, or feeling stuck. But over time, a pattern has emerged. Communicators’ perceptions of what we do and how we do it differ significantly from those of our internal stakeholders. We asked communicators and their stakeholders the same questions — and got different answers Across dozens…
Changing the Language of Change
“Change is hard.”“People don’t like change.”“Our workforce is change fatigued.” These phrases are so familiar they often pass without question. They appear in leadership conversations, strategy papers and APS Census debriefs year after year. But what if the way we…
2025: Tiny team, big year
At the end of every year, I write a blog about what we have achieved as a team. It has been something I have been doing since I was in the public service. It is a ritual that captures the…
From Doing to Leading: The real shift when you step into SES
We often find ourselves chatting with people in our network about their career journeys – the highs, the lows, and everything in between. As former EL2s, we know firsthand that being a great EL1 doesn’t automatically make you a great…
- Australian Government, Blog post, Business information, Communications professional, Leadership, Professional development
Lessons from Japan: Patiently getting better outcomes
Last week, I travelled to Japan to meet with the Japanese government and stakeholders for a project I am working on. I haven’t worked in Japan before, but I know the business culture is very different from the laid-back and…
The Prebunking Playbook for Communicators
Every communications professional knows the sinking feeling. You’ve spent weeks crafting clear, evidence-based messaging about a new policy or initiative, only to watch it get twisted into something unrecognisable on social media. By the time you’ve prepared a response, the…
Writing should be a team sport
Everyone in a decision-making role knows the feeling. You open your inbox to find dozens of briefs, emails, and reports competing for your attention. Some are crystal clear, while others are impenetrable walls of text that make you wonder what…
- Australian Government, Communication, Communications professional, Leadership, Professional development
Why do we say yes when we want to say no?
– “Can you just put together a factsheet quickly?” *Internal voice: No. Factsheets are a terrible idea. They’re hard to search, often inaccessible, and no one wants to download anything these days.* “Sure.” ————————————– “We just need a quick 5–10…
Seven lessons in seven years
In 2018, I left the public service. I needed a change—a new challenge, a different rhythm, new scenery. “Start a small business,” they said. “It’ll be easy. You’ll have so much flexibility.” In seven years, running Elm has been anything…
How can we hold our work lightly?
When working in communications, we often put a little piece of ourselves into our work. Your blood, sweat and a few tears into a communication strategy, hours spent on carefully crafted messages, or that presentation that you worked on until…
100 Hours Later: What I Learned from My Internship at Elm Communications
As I near the end of my internship with Elm Communications, I found myself revisiting the very first blog post I wrote at the start of this journey. In that post, I reflected on why I chose to study communications…
