After the last five years of professional sprinting in two highly dynamic and incredibly demanding positions, I was burned out. What was once my driving motivator to get out of bed in the morning, had become a storm cloud of dread hiding behind a 45-minute commute five days a week. While I had made the decision to leave the Navy nearly a year ago, I had never felt more validated in that choice than I did when the burnout really set in - anything has to be better than this, I thought.
But as I started my job search looking at what’s next, I also questioned and wondered if I wasn’t just burned out on the Navy, but if I was also burned out on strategic communications. You see (and anyone in the field knows this), comms is hard. It’s non-stop, it touches everyone else’s problems, and when you’re the hero, typically everyone else gets the credit. I’m not one who needs external validation or an “atta boy” to know I’m doing a good job and my work matters to my organizations success, but after years and years of hard work the career field can wear on you.
Enter IABC World Conference.
My first World Conference was last year in Toronto, and while I had started to dabble in the IABC circles, attending conference was intimidating. The overall experience turned out amazing and I couldn’t wait to go back to World Conference 2024 in Chicago.
Not only was there a session facilitated by Carolon Donnally PCC,MSOD specifically on burnout in communicators, but hearing from the brightest minds in the field validated that while I may be a bit burned out from work, I certainly wasn’t burned out on communications.
I love what I do.
I love the power of communications to help organizations meet their goals. And I find the challenge of demonstrating to leaders how our craft and how professional communicators are an asymmetric advantage for an organization when empowered and employed effectively.
So thank you World Conference - I really needed you this year.
Now, and coupled with a few weeks of R&R, I’m more than ready to hit the ground running! My time in the Navy is up in the next couple of weeks and I’m eagerly and excitedly looking for a new role. While internal comms is my favorite focus area, I pride myself on being a communication generalist who can interweave PR, crisis, social media, speech writing, internal comms, and more into a comprehensive strategic communication program.
If you know of any roles or just want to network, please reach out!!
Catch up on what you missed at IABC World Conference 2024, or relive some of the highlights! Thank you to Samuel Chen 📣 of IABC Canada East Region for putting together this awesome recap video 👏 #IABC24 https://lnkd.in/d8EZ5vH5 #IABC #CommunicationCreates
https://www.responsiblem.com/casestudy-global-accessibility-alliance-isba