The Internal Comms Podcast

Amid the turmoil of 2020, with IC pros thrown into the spotlight as we strive to keep colleagues informed and connected, it’s not surprising that many of us are feeling a degree of anxiety and self-doubt. These are classic symptoms of Imposter Syndrome, which is that nagging feeling you will be found out at any moment as a fake or a fraud.

Research suggests that those of us in creative professions are more likely to suffer from Imposter Syndrome. And even if you don’t suffer from it yourself, those around you might, and as a result, they’ll be engaging in self-limiting behaviour that comes at a cost to themselves and your organisation as a whole.

So, to guide us through Imposter Syndrome, The Internal Comms Podcast host Katie Macaulay has turned to an expert: Dr Valerie Young. Known internationally as an authority on the subject, Valerie is the author of The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer From Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of it. She regularly speaks at corporations and universities, sharing her practical advice with thousands worldwide.

Men should not be put off by the title of her book, as Valerie says it’s clear from the research that these feelings are suffered by both sexes. In this episode, she explains where these feelings come from, and why you can’t share your way out of them. The conversation covers reframing failure, the link between our thoughts and our feelings, and the notion of designing our work around our lives, rather than the opposite, which sadly entraps too many of us.

If you want to take your communication skills to the next level, then this episode of The Internal Comms Podcast is for you.

Katie’s guest is a formidable negotiator and expert at persuasion – former hostage negotiator Chris Voss.

Chris was the lead international kidnapping negotiator for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He spent 24 years with the Bureau persuading terrorists, bank robbers and kidnappers to change their behaviour.

At one point he was in charge of every response to the kidnapping of American citizens anywhere in the world.

Following his retirement from the FBI, Chris founded The Black Swan Group, a consulting firm that trains the business world how to negotiate more effectively. He is the author of Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It and regularly lectures at universities on the subject.

Behaviour change is a fundamental part of a communicator’s role, as is the art of influence and this episode has plenty of advice on both. So, grab yourself a coffee and sit back as Chris regales us with some fascinating anecdotes, explains how to use ‘tactical empathy’ to make others feel understood and offers advice on how to get senior stakeholders onboard.

In this episode of The Internal Comms Podcast we meet digital expert Frank Wolf. Frank spent seven years as a business consultant at Accenture. Then at T Mobile, he was responsible for social technologies and collaboration solutions. He co-founded Staffbase – the employee app and intranet. He is also the author of Social Intranet.

Today we seem to have endless opportunities to connect with people in new and dynamic ways but for many of us, digital communication is not where it can and should be inside our organisations. If you don’t know where to start, want advice on building a business case or how to choose the best technology partner, then get your notepad ready as Frank answers these questions and much more.

In this enlightening conversation not only does he demystify tech but explains how it’s set to take employee engagement to the next level in our ever-changing world of work.

In this episode of The Internal Comms Podcast we meet Steve Crescenzo, a witty, straight-talking and charismatic speaker, workshop leader and coach from Chicago, USA, who has spent decades working alongside – and training – thousands of IC professionals.

Steve is on a mission to take the corporate out of corporate communications. He says the job of communicators is to “make the important interesting.” He also wants us to “do less but do it better”. Too often, he believes, we’re writing for the approver, rather than the reader.

Having begun his career as a journalist and columnist for trade publications, Steve set up his consultancy, Crescenzo Communications, which he runs with his wife Cindy. His passion for what we do – and what we need to achieve inside our organisations – remains as strong as ever, and is utterly infectious.

So if you want practical, no nonsense advice on how to produce more creative, compelling content; how to push back against bad ideas; how to get headline grabbing quotes from every interview, and earn the respect of senior stakeholders – grab a coffee, sit back and let Steve both entertain and inspire you.

The Internal Comms Podcast is now in its fourth season – and to kick it off Katie sat down with Tasneem Chopra for some honest and open conversation.

The self-styled “professional disruptor” helps businesses address the important issues of diversity and inclusion within their workforce. As a cross-cultural consultant, and champion for social justice, she helps leaders identify where social problems in their business may lie, and crucially, how to solve them.

In this episode she talks passionately and with great experience about “shaking things up” and how we can all make our workplaces – and the wider world – a safer, fairer place for us all to enjoy.

Before the curtain lifts on Season 4 of The IC Podcast, we wanted to leave you with some food for thought from Season 3.

And what a season it was; we had a whole host of remarkable guests with sharp insights and valuable advice to help us through what has been a truly challenging time for IC professionals.

In this special compilation reel, Katie takes us through some of her favourite moments.

The goal of this podcast is to bring you meaningful, in-depth conversations with people who are helping to shape the world of internal communication: practitioners, leaders, authors, creatives, and consultants. People like Shel Holtz, Dr Kevin Ruck, Bill Quirke, Rachel Miller, Russell Grossman, Liam Fitzpatrick and Sue Dewhurst. When Katie Macaulay asked many of these amazing people who inspired their thinking, one name kept coming up: Roger D’Aprix.

He can be rightly described as the pioneer in the field of employee communication. This is reflected in the titles of some of the 10 books he’s written on the subject of communication, leadership and culture: Struggle for Identity: The Silent Revolution Against Corporate Conformity (1972); In Search of a Corporate Soul (1978); Communicating For Change (1996); The Credible Company: Leadership Communication Strategies for a Sceptical Workforce (2008); Bosses: True Stories of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly (2020).

Roger has devoted his career to helping make organisations become more human, so they, in turn, can get the very best out of their people. He has played a pivotal role in establishing a truly strategic role for internal communication as the function that creates meaning for people.

But despite his incredibly impressive body of work, and a highly successful consulting career, this conversation reveals an incredibly modest and humble man. In it, Roger reflects on a career that started in the late 1950s and runs to the present day.

President of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), Jenni Field has more than 16 years’ experience in communications. She is the founder and director of Redefining Communications, a consultancy that transforms organisations by improving communications.

Jenni has honed her expertise across multiple industries, from pharmaceutical, to advertising and hospitality. The topic of Jenni’s first book, due out in April 2021, is about moving organisations from chaos to calm.

In this episode, Jenni and Katie consider the need for businesses to adapt amid the global coronavirus pandemic, the role of membership organisations in the current climate, and improving diversity and inclusion through education and action, among other topics.

Whatever the problem, being part of the solution is the key to thriving in the world of internal comms, explains Jenni. ‘You must be prepared to take action. Get in there, role your sleeves up, and make that change.’

The Internal Comms Podcast has gone truly global with our latest episode featuring three speakers from three countries.

In episode 31 Katie tables a roundtable discussion with Jennifer Wah, Brad Whitworth and Neil Griffiths, who are all fellows of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).

A fellowship is the highest honour the IABC can bestow on its members. Jennifer – based in Canada, Brad – the USA, and Neil – the UK, join Katie to discuss what the industry could expect in the coming weeks and months, and the opportunities the pandemic has offered communicators.

All three guests bring a wealth of experience to the discussion, which touches on imposter syndrome, communication platforms of the future and the importance of listening to employees, among other valuable insights.

Chief Executive of the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), Adriènne Kelbie has an exceptional understanding of the true power of communication and engagement. The first woman to take up the lead role at the ONR, Adriènne describes herself as an outlier, markedly different from other chief executives.

Winner of the Northern Power Women’s 2019 Transformational Leader Award, Adriènne is a passionate advocate of values-based leadership, and of transparency, accessibility and diversity in all its forms.

In this episode, Adriènne and Katie discuss a wide array of topics, from what it means to be a role model, to the difference between transparency and accessibility. Adriènne also gives us especially good advice on failure through her own experiences, explaining that ‘your comfort zone is not your friend’.

Adriènne firmly believes that true leaders coach and develop those around them to be their best selves.