Shannon Kaye

Flexibility comes with confidence in your work and your ability to manage a project along with your client's expectations. I outline process guidelines including steps and decision points. I communicate with points of authority where they'll want to trust my expertise, and points where I invite their decisions (not opinions- that's different!). I share the pros/cons of each option knowing that every variation will serve the greater project to the client's liking. This allows me to show flexibility and instill trust by demonstrating that I'm invested in my client's needs and the project's success. Let go of taking things personally for the opportunity to create a winning moment for everyone.

Rash responses to negative feedback can stop the momentum on growth and sales opportunities. If viewed with curiosity, a customer's comment could give you the insight you need to turn a good campaign into a great campaign. Before making rash decisions, evaluate the content for easy fixes and corrections that may address a complaint without disrupting the campaign. Small changes may actually improve performance! Second, prepare response scripts to show you're listening and appreciate feedback. Showing flexibility also shows confidence. And third, focus equally on positive feedback to see what's working and discover more opportunities to improve your offerings and increase sales.

I wouldn't say that compromise should be on the table when it comes to executing consistent brand strategies clearly and consistently. But, there always places in the creative or copy where a bit of flexibility or give and take can go a long way in creating team cohesiveness that could ultimately make the brand even stronger.

Annual reviews that result in clear communication across all functions around any modifications will help ensure that the inevitable evolution of the brand will be seen outwardly as confidence and understood inwardly as a well-executed plan.

At the end of the day, the brand needs to 'win' in terms of being consistently intentional. That being said, there's an art to making sure the brand message is also compelling to its intended market. Talking through the details and disagreements with more focus on company goals and audience demographics rather than the personalities in the room will help steer conversations down a more productive and collaborative path.

We all have our job titles AND we all have special powers. You can discover a co-workers special power by watching for them to 'light up' when certain topics, activities, or needs show up in a conversation or meeting. Tapping into these moments and asking more questions to uncover the unique perspectives your team members will build collaborative bridges naturally giving everyone the opportunity to share beyond their given title or role. And this technique goes beyond your team to other departments and stakeholders as an effective way to create opportunities for cross-departmental collaborations and leadership buy-in on initiatives and projects you're tasked with and would like to bring to your company.