In the hot seat

When was the last time you were quizzed about your job and what you do? When was the last time that you had to explain your strategic approach and how that is translated into tactical activity? As a communicator when did you last have to face a series of questions to test your professional grip and knowledge? I am sure most of us don’t face this on a regular basis, but is that a good thing?

I was put in the hot seat today and although these things are not comfortable I actually found it quite useful. The questioning was challenging and made me articulate the current position and future priorities in a way that I don’t do on a daily basis. I needed to make it a clear explanation of the work we do, how it supports the organisation and how things are evaluated. It was pretty intense to do that for an hour and a half.

The discussion helped me to check my thoughts about the work taking place. I was able to talk about activities which made identifying priorities easier as they were clear. It also meant I was able to outline the future and for communication how that could look.

Interestingly, it felt like an extended job interview and for most people those happen infrequently. The interview approach makes you assess your role, responsibility, skills, knowledge and experience. It also demands that you have a clear strategy that you can discuss and talk about implementation. Today I reminded myself about all the things that the team are involved in, are developing or are leading on. Believe me it was a lot, which is a little concern.

The challenge I faced isn’t something I want to experience on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis but it has been incredibly rewarding to be able to talk about the work with people who are analytically reviewing the detail. Now, I just need to keep going and ensure that we implement the strategy.