Jacquie Molloy - Common Issues

The Common Issues

You're not alone

More than ever, the pressure is on corporate professionals to be visible in the organisation by being good at what they do.

What are the common characteristics of these corporate professionals?

They need to maintain and improve their skills and knowledge — and learn new skills or develop specific expertise
They are short on time, but want to hit the ground running whenever they are presented with an opportunity to step up
They need to do well in all their communications with the Executive Team, Partnership Group, CEO or Board, right from the start
They recognise the benefits of modelling great communications to their own reports and teams.

When these individuals are motivated to move into a new role or find themselves considered as a high potential within the organisation, they tend to bump up against similar issues.

And these are the issues that will influence the quality, the effectiveness, and success, of their communications.

You’ve been on the fast track and feel like you’ve missed opportunities to develop all the skills you need — especially in your communications
You now have many, often competing, objectives & responsibilities
You get a lot of information — formal and informal — and you are expected to quickly navigate and absorb it
You’re frustrated that you’re not as strong in both your face-to-face skills and written communications
You worry that you don't really belong and that you will be found out.

How are these issues affecting you right now?

You are resigned to a ‘hit and miss’ success rate because high quality reports & documents & presentations take too long to plan and prepare (and you can’t pull that off every time)
You secretly believe that you are either a ‘natural’ or you’re not
You don’t have a replicable approach to dealing with a blank page or blank screen and so waste time on creating long-winded ‘history of my problem solving’ drafts
You are convinced that ‘experience’ is the only way to improve your communications skills.

It’s no surprise that the firms and organisations that excel at recognising and mentoring their high potentials to move them up through the ranks are the same organisations that are able to recruit, and keep, superb talent.

So why are we still talking about this?

High potentials are just that: potentials, not guarantees. In addition to their own initiative and drive, they need to receive the attention and mentoring that will help them make the transition to the next level successfully.

Some of this can and should happen within the organisation.

Some of it requires specialised training and mentoring in specific skills.

Communications is the ‘doorway’ to develop the skills to:

Handle difficult conversations
Manage expectations
Establish boundaries with clients while still operating with a full service ethos
Ask for, and give, feedback
Make sound decisions based on both logic and good judgement.

What would help you:

The skills to consistently create logical and persuasive communications: on the page, on your feet and in meetings or around the Boardroom table.
A confidential and trusted-adviser relationship based on the no-nonsense advice and laser feedback that can only come from decades of hands-on experience in the corporate world.