Communicators Key to Navigating Change

At this time two years ago, a friend of mine who leads a nonprofit was excited about the new year.

Her organization serves the blind and visually impaired, so she had a pretty strong hook for an upcoming fundraising and awareness campaign. After all, the opportunity to tie “2020” with “vision” only comes around once.

What she – and all of us – didn’t see coming was a global pandemic.

Not surprisingly, the campaign got mothballed as the pandemic surged, creating a pressing need to focus time and resources on serving clients affected by COVID-19.

Things are much different now as we approach another new year. About the only thing we can count on (beyond death, taxes and cat memes) is change.

This has always been true, of course. But I suspect the relative repetition of what we now wistfully recall as “normal” tended to blunt that reality.

For communicators, relentless and unprecedented change has become a call to action. I firmly believe that the work we do is more important than ever. A growing part of our responsibility has been to help others understand – and navigate -- that change, often in real time.

Whether your focus is providing vital information to the public or scribing internal communications to ensure your workforce remains safe and informed, you’re doing work that matters – even if some days it might not feel that way.

It’s easy – and understandable -- to feel the effects of burnout as the pandemic drags on and the daily headlines recount a litany of other horrors and injustices.

Yet as a new year approaches, it’s important to take stock of what you’ve achieved and give yourself and your colleagues credit for doing essential work amid challenging and ever-changing conditions.

After all, it will be the communicators who have the vision to guide us through the uncertain year ahead.