Kate Isichei

Work through your people managers to instil belief and support for the company’s mission and vision through your relationship with team members. Trust supports safety which, in turn, supports comfort, understanding, and a shared interpretation of responsibilities. It all starts and ends with the leaders who carry your teams through the organisation’s journeys.

Try to identify underlying issues that might be causing or contributing to conflict. Usually conflict is an indication of mistrust and a protective approach to building relationships at work that favours retention of knowledge and rejects collaboration. Some collective team assessment workshops can bring festering relationship challenges to the surface.

I’m not entirely clear on why this is being asked about internal comms in particular. There is a wide variety of people, with very a very noticeable variability in skill, knowledge, and experience. It all depends on what is driving the imposter syndrome. If it’s the lack of a seat at the table it would help to get a handle on your senior leadership and their priorities. Focusing on how internal comms can mirror or reflect these priorities will help internal comms to have confident conversations with those who have their hands on the purse strings for budget, resources etc.

Assess needs is the single most important element and the starting point for all of this. Why does your organisation need a platform? Is it because all the cool companies are doing it or is there a real need vs desire and want? Informal assessment is usually the most efficient way to approach this rather than trying to take a wholesale approach to consultation and boiling the ocean. Even if the assessment is being driven by leadership it doesn’t necessarily mean it has to happen. Push back respectfully if you can see it’s not going to work.

Get a statement of work that clearly outlines the projects and initiatives you’re responsible for, timelines, stakeholders, output, and results. If it doesn’t exist, write one yourself. Ensure you carry yourself with professionalism even if others don’t value your services. Always strive to add value but know how to create boundaries that stop clients from taking advantage of your enthusiasm and goodwill.

Use your quarterly and annual reviews as opportunities to showcase your achievements to your manager. Don’t be modest. Just ensure you have proof and also gather as much documented positive feedback as possible to shore up your chances of success when the opportunity for promotion arises.