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Why women can’t lead like men
Controversial heading, right? Good. I wanted to get your attention on International Women’s Day. While I don’t like it and don’t want the world to be like this, this theme has kept recurring over the last few weeks. Women can’t be the same type of leaders as men. This isn’t new. It’s a well-known problem. But when you’re reminded of it, repeatedly, in different rooms, with different people, it lands like a slap in the face. Not because it surprises you. Because it confirms what you already know. Women can lead. Women do lead. Women are leading brilliantly. But we’re often not allowed to lead the way men do, without…
Keeping up is a professional responsibility
Hands up if you have a communications or marketing degree. 🙋 And hands up if you’ve not done any further study since entering the profession, beyond the mandatory organisational e-training. 🙋 Hands up if you go to a conference every…
Developing the next generation of communicators
One of the quieter questions behind the excitement about AI in communications is this: What happens to early-career professionals when many of the fundamentals they need to learn are now automated? For decades, communications followed an informal apprenticeship model. Early…
- Australian Government, Blog post, Communication, Communications professional, internal communications, Professional development
Rethinking internal communications for a hybrid world
Distributed workplaces are no longer a temporary adjustment. For many organisations, hybrid work is now the default. People work from home, across multiple offices, and on different schedules. Initially, we thought it was a temporary change, but now it has…
Communication is no longer about messaging. It’s about trust.
Trust in institutions is falling, and communicators are working right at the fault line. Globally, confidence in traditional media and government continues to decline. In Australia, fewer than half of people say they trust the government, and many believe media…
- Australian Government, Blog post, Communication, Communications professional, Leadership, Professional development
AI – Comms’ new and very enthusiastic intern
Spoiler alert: Artificial intelligence is here to stay. It is reshaping how every profession works, but for communications teams, the impact feels particularly personal. Not because AI can now do graphic design, rewrite content or develop a media release, but…
- Australian Government, Blog post, Communication, Communications professional, Professional development
The future for government communications in an AI world
The world we work (and live) in continues to evolve at an unprecedented rate. It’s hard to keep up with all of the changes in our workplaces, let alone what it may mean for our future careers. We’ve been doing…
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…
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…
