The new year always seems to get people thinking about whether it is time for a change. Did you know that more people resign on 31 January than any other day in the year? If you are thinking about looking…
Note to my future self
At the beginning of the year, I like to write myself a note that I can open in twelve months time. It allows me to think about what I want this year to hold and sets my intentions for the…
What would Jacinda do?
We have all watched in horror over the past few weeks as the south-east coast of Australia burned. For those of us that were holidaying down there in Jarvis Bay, we initially joked it was like armageddon. For those further…
That’s a wrap on 2019…
And just like that, it’s done! The first full calendar year of Elm Communications – over! As we reach the end of 2019 I wanted to continue with a tradition I started when I was at the Clean Energy Regulator.…
How to become a consultant
On a semi-regular basis, someone will reach out to me and ask if I could share with them how I become a consultant. Where did I begin? How does it work? What did I need from a system, technology, support…
Give a man a workshop, and he’ll learn for a day. Teach a man to facilitate, and he will engage for a lifetime.
Or so the saying goes. Last week, I had the most fantastic experience! I joined Samantha Sutherland and headed to the Cook Islands to train several local public servants how to facilitate. To say our participants were less than enthusiastic…
Taking clients with you on your comms journey
Ever wondered why people don’t really care about your communication strategy? You spend weeks perfecting it. Getting just the right tone, great messaging, creating detailed environmental scan. You send it off to the business area or client and…silence. No one…
I’ve made mistakes
I’ve been doing a lot of reading on leadership lately, and it has made me reflect on what type of leader I was before I became a solo-consultant. I thought sharing my insights with you might get you thinking too.…
Staying above the line
Many years ago, Samantha Sutherland ran a team building session with my government communications team. We had been struggling with several issues internally, including the age-old combo of demanding clients and feeling undervalued. As the manager, I was concerned it…
Why do we overthink when writing?
Share I was talking to a friend last week about how hard she was finding it to write a blog for a uni assignment. She had written and rewritten the piece, agonised over every word. Mulled on the themes. And…