(This is the part four of a five-part Reflect & Amplify series of posts about how IC pros can Pivot With Purpose into 2021.)

So far in this series, you’ve reflected on the employee story and viewpoint, noticed how much your internal audiences have changed and noticed the inside experts who have helped you move forward. Taking time to notice matters. In fact, it can be a powerful practice. 

Reflect: Think About All That You’ve Learned

As you look back on the past year, think about how far you’ve come. Think about all that you’ve learned about the employees in your organization and what they need to know and do to move forward. 

Learning fast is one of your superpowers. I know this about you. I also know that this strength is not always common across an organization. Your brain is constantly taking in information. That’s just how you’re wired as an IC pro. I might even go so far as to say you’re a learning Rockstar. 

Everything you’ve learned has made your work more relevant and compelling for your audiences. All that has happened over the past year has strengthened your advocacy for your internal audiences and their success. 

You’ve applied that learning in every interaction you had with the project owners and leaders you advise. Each one-to-one conversation over the past year has been a chance to leverage this newfound strength and knowledge.

Here’s some good news. The breadth of what you’ve learned through your experience in the past year has made you stronger and more comfortable when interacting with leaders and internal clients. 

While learning has made you more agile, your ability to influence change and new strength can often be limited to those within earshot or when you’re in the room.

If only it were as easy as bottling up audience expertise and advocacy and serving up a small glass to every changemaker, project owner and leader in the organization. The job of the IC leader would be so much easier.

Question: Ask Yourself These Questions 

Of course, there are always opportunities to grow. You know this. You’re driven to do things better. The path forward always starts with asking questions.

• What have you learned in the past year about the internal audiences you serve that would help others outside of communications create success?

• How do you share what you know about the audiences you serve – both within and outside your department?

• Are there things that you know about specific employee audiences that would help project owners and managers be more successful?

• If you were to win the lottery tomorrow, would the hard-earned, internal audience knowledge and expertise you’ve gained disappear? 

When it comes to amplifying what you’ve learned when you’re not in the room, here’s one way to pivot into 2021.

Amplify: Your Audience Knowledge and Influence

It’s time to amplify your audience knowledge beyond one-to-one conversations. Make 2021 the year to move past one-to-one interactions and into one-to-many opportunities to influence organizational success. 

It’s time to take what we’ve learned about our employee audiences and put pen to paper. We can do this by creating shareable guides or resource documents to keep leaders and internal clients aligned on what they need to know about internal audiences. 

Marketing often builds personas about ideal customer audiences. Why don’t we? A shareable profile about each internal audience could extend your ability to advocate for audience success when you’re not in the room.

Capture what’s inside your head that has informed your amazing work in 2020 and put it into guides that can inform the potentially amazing work of others throughout the coming year. 

Leveraging your audience expertise in shareable form extends your reach and amplifies your impact. 

Next in the Series: Reflect & Amplify – Own the Audience Matter Expert Role