If you’re a communications or marketing pro, or work closely with one, you know the power of high-profile success, like a nailing a campaign message or securing a key interview. But while the results are highly visible, only you and your team understand what it really took to get there. While a lot of that work is the tangible, measurable kind, the part that really gets the job done rarely shows up in a report.
This month we’re excited to share a guest article from former Weber Shandwick and Edelman communications executive Mark Mohammadpour APR, Fellow PRSA who shines a light on the complex and nuanced role of the skilled communications pro. He explains the unseen work and mental load that can both power success and keep that success from being sustainable if it’s not identified, recognized and accounted for.
Read on to learn how Mark helps teams go below the surface of reportable results to manage this essential but unseen work for long-term success.
Earlier this year, I led a conversation with public relations, communication, and marketing executives and asked them: “What is one disaster that didn’t happen because you were in the room?”
The room went quiet, then one by one every person had an answer.
- “We stopped a sales team from alienating an important audience segment.”
- “We rewrote a message to all our employees that, without our counsel, would have caused unnecessary confusion and anxiety, costing us millions of dollars in lost productivity.”
- “We streamlined communication channels that helped prevent miscommunication at the start of a crisis, which ultimately saved lives.”
None of those wins is listed in a scope of work.
I want to give you permission to analyze what you do, acknowledge it with your team, and highlight and address one issue every quarter that will improve your well-being and bottom line.
First, picture an iceberg.
Above the water is what most people see: Writing. Social media. Press releases. Research. Media relations. Crisis.
Below the water is everything that makes the work above it possible: Translating jargon. Building relationships. Being an advocate. Sharing life-saving messages. Proving your value. Making other people look good.
This is a Communications Iceberg.
Notice the difference between the two halves. Everything above the line is a deliverable. It’s in the scope of work, in our project trackers, and a topic of conversation daily.
Everything below the line is a relationship, a judgment call, or a moment of courage.
The bottom half is where the value lives and where a lot of our energy, stress, and ultimately our holistic well-being lie.
When nobody focuses below the surface, two things go wrong:
The first is a business problem. You cannot win budget, headcount, or a promotion for work nobody can see, acknowledge, or appreciate. Gallup finds that “Globally, one in four employees strongly agree that they have received recognition or praise for doing good work in the last week. By moving that ratio to six in 10, organizations could realize a 28% improvement in quality, a 31% reduction in absenteeism and a 12% reduction in shrinkage.”
The second is a people problem. Harvard Business Review published “The Invisible Work Draining Your Best Employees.” The authors make a point I’ve witnessed play out: leaders measure workload and value by hours, deadlines, and output, and oversee the mental load: ongoing effort of managing tasks, relationships, and alignment.
Invisible work does not just go unrewarded; it goes unmanaged.
The Sunrise Audit
Here is the good news. There is a solution, but it needs routine attention, not a once-a-year item to scratch off the to-do list.
I call it a Sunrise Audit. It’s a 30-minute meeting with your team once per quarter, giving you and your team permission to review what you do, its impact, and the mental toll it takes on you and your team.
1) Draw a horizontal line on a whiteboard. Above the line, the team writes what they get measured on. Below the line, write what your team does to make that happen.
2) Discuss the heaviest items below the line. Ask: “Which of these takes the most out of you, and does anyone outside this room know you do it?”
3) Select a single below-the-water task and make it visible this month. Write it in the status report. Say it out loud in the client meeting.
4) Discuss with the team “how can we make this task easier for ourselves in this next quarter?
Run this audit the following quarter. Small, recurring, and expected beats one big, inspiring push every time.
For example, let’s look at jargon. Recent research from the University of Florida and George Washington University says, “using too much jargon in the workplace can hurt employees’ ability to process messages, leading them to experience negative feelings and making them feel less confident.”
Additional research by LinkedIn and Duolingo found that 71 percent of remote workers and 54 percent of onsite workers feel left out due to workplace jargon.
If you encounter confusing jargon in real time and are confident others in a meeting might not know what it means, ask for a brief pause to explain it in more detail.
One method I use to determine the level of jargon is “Would my friends or family roll their eyes if I used these words in front of them?”
There are some exceptions to using acronyms and jargon, of course, but I am urging you to use them sparingly. Here are some ways to ensure leaders are being more inclusive:
- Regularly review your use of acronyms and jargon. Go back and review your email and other communications.
- When onboarding new team members, include a short “translation” document of unnatural words or phrases.
- Spend a few minutes during your next team meeting having an honest conversation about the amount of jargon and acronyms used. Listen to what’s being shared and adjust accordingly.
Let’s give ourselves permission to look under the water. Show your team that you see the whole iceberg, not just the ten percent that looks nice in a results recap.
Then ask them the question I asked that room of leaders. “What disaster didn’t happen because you were here?”
I would love to hear their answers.
Mark Mohammadpour, APR, Fellow PRSA, is the Founder of Chasing the Sun, where he helps companies build healthy, confident, and connected teams. A former communications executive at Weber Shandwick and Edelman, he leads Keynote Conversations™ and team offsites for organizations worldwide.
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