It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to sit down and write a blog post but I’ve had quite a busy few weeks work wise and personally so here is a bit of a life update on what’s been going on lately!
busybusyverybusy 😉
Last week I found out I passed my CIPR Internal Communications Diploma with PR Academy (the relief was immense!). The diploma was fabulous and I really enjoyed the theory behind some of the practice. I decided to do it online as I couldn’t commit to the travel and I liked the idea of a weekly webinar so I could go back and watch it again.
Quite a few people asked me why I was bothering with an IC Diploma when I’ve worked in the profession for so many years. I asked myself that question a few times, as well as whether it was worth the investment or should I be investing in something that’s new to me? But I wanted something to enhance my Trusted Advisor status and give me more confidence when I’m speaking to senior leaders in an organisation – which I feel it has done.
One piece of advice I would give is to make sure you have time to dedicate to it. It would be a shame to start something and then not really enjoy it due to time issues. You get the most out of these things if you really embrace it. I’m not going to lie, there were some days when I spent time procrastinating rather than knuckling down and getting on with my assignment but this didn’t last long and I eventually found my happy medium. I highly recommend the course and if anyone has any questions then please do get in touch with me!
Talking about making time for things, a couple of weeks ago I attended the IoD North West Women in Enterprise conference which was held at Stockport Plaza (stunning venue).
Best conference this year so far
I honestly didn’t go with any expectations as these things can be hit or miss but wow, this was one of the best conferences I’ve been to in a long time. Any conference that kicks off with my favourite song “
[wpvideo n8pGOD0l ]
is a winner to me. But in all seriousness this conference left me with so much inspiration I was buzzing for days after. The highlight for me has to be the presentation by Sharon Amesu who spoke about “Slaying your inner giant” and her three pieces of advice:
- Remember who you are – you are made of stern stuff and can be powerful, just remember the giants you’ve defeated already
- Go afraid – even if you don’t have courage, you will handle it
- Create a legacy – we slay our giants so the next generation don’t have to or at least will know how to!
If you’re senior leader/Director/aspiring leader or have your own business then I definitely check out IoD they have a whole host of resources, tools and various events across the UK. I also love that members can use various IoD venues to hold meetings and events, perfect for anyone fed up with having meetings in coffee shops!
In other news it was announced last week that I will be stepping into the Chair role for CIPR Inside as Jenni Field will be moving on to focus on her President elect role from January 2019. I am very excited about this and I’m looking forward to working with the amazing CIPR Inside committee to keep delivering some great things for you all – we have some fabulous things coming up in the new year that I can’t wait to share with you. I’m also delighted that Helen Deverell will be supporting me as vice-chair, she’s been a fantastic committee member for a number of years and I’m looking forward to us working together. Jenni has been a great mentor and support to me during my years on the committee, I wish her all the best in her new role but I’m also pretty pleased she isn’t going to far away 🙂
Recently I’ve been supporting the Northern Power Women (NPW) team with their Northern Power Futures Festival which is going to be held in central Manchester on 23 and 24 November. The two days are aimed at people who either live, work or study in the North who are starting their careers or are mid-way through. Those of you who know me will know that I am extremely passionate about the North of England and I absolutely adore the work that Simone Roche MBE (founder of NPW) is doing to raise the profile of some amazing talent we have. If you live in the North then I urge you to check out the festival, there will be 90+ speakers discussing various things from how to get onto the property ladder to what Brexit means to for the future generation. There will also be some career clinics, reverse mentoring and leadership advice workshops: https://northernpowerfutures.com/manchester-program/#not-set:all
Finally, on 30 October I’m going to do a webinar with Contact Monkey on unleashing your inner rebel. This is my first webinar so I’m quite excited (and a little petrified!). It’s completely free to join and hopefully you’ll take away some top tips on how you can bring out your inner rebel in your role: https://www.contactmonkey.com/blog/free-webinar-internal-comms-rebel
As well as starting a new job earlier this year, 2018 has certainly been a huge learning year for me and it’s not over yet. I’ve got the exciting Youpreneur summit coming up in a couple of weeks and then the PR Week Strategic Internal Communications Conference. Then on 5 December we (as in CIPR Inside) are having some Christmas Drinks. If you’re planning to be at any of these then please get in touch, it’ll be great to say hello. As usual you can find me on twitter @advita_p or Linkedin!