How would you describe yourself and your career journey?
I am a people person, with a warm personality ready to mingle with all and interact with different opinions. I consider my career path an interesting one. I started as a sales and marketing person, transitioned into radio and did 10 years in the media space. I started off as an intern and grew to a prime time radio producer, became a Parliamentary reporter and later a Vice Presidential Correspondent.
I left the radio job and had a stint with Citydia now Spar supermarkets as Category and Marketing Manager. I left Citydia and landed my dream communications job with Strategic Communications Africa Ltd. (Stratcomm Africa), Ghana’s Foremost communications consultancy, where I am currently the Media and Stakeholder Relations lead, using my expertise to facilitate building relationships with a variety of stakeholders for the agency and its stake-holders
Walk us through a typical day in your life as a Public Relations practitioner.
Working in a consulting firm like Stratcomm Africa means that I have the opportunity to work on different communication assignments. My daily tasks are anchored in strategies developed to guide projects to which I am assigned. On a typical day, I start with alignment with members of my team, then an assessment of the reputational needs of clients. I ensure that l deliver on specific tasks for the day and circle back to ensure that the delivery effectively contributes to the realization of the strategic objectives. Just as the weather is not predictable all the day, my routine changes when clients have urgent needs.
What are some of the challenges you encounter at work daily? How do you deal with them?
One challenge is the fast paced ever-evolving industry trends. Stratcomm Africa is 27 years old. This means that it has seen and survived many changes and has time tested systems for supporting and guiding staff in coping with changing trends. I am fortunate to be benefiting from this. For me also these challenging evolving trends present exciting opportunities for growth. So I wholeheartedly embrace them, learn through them and continue to grow. I deal with them by constantly asking questions and looking at possible ways to reinvent myself as a professional, ensuring I serve the best interest of my clients and organization.
I have come to understand that I do not know it all, I do not think I ever will. So, I learn every day and read wide. Stratcomm Africa has professional delivery as one of its values and I strive to achieve this in all I do . I willingly learn from those I find around me. This is easy to do at Stratcomm Africa as team work is one of the cornerstones of the organisation. I am also privileged to be working with a widely respected and experienced Communications professional Ms Esther A N Cobbah who is a storehouse of knowledge that one can easily tap and learn from.
As I grow in my profession, I find out that the challenges I encounter are rather reducing. My challenges reduce as I turn them into opportunities for growth.
What inspires your delivery as a practitioner?
One question I ask myself is what I would be remembered for. This question helps fuel my passion. Firstly, it is my innate desire to use communications to solve problems for organizations and individuals. I am elated when I see organizations that I have worked for showing progress and meeting their bottom line. Secondly, it is quest to strive for excellence. One of our goals at Stratcomm Africa is to strive for real excellence. In an era where mediocrity is the order of the day, we are oriented to pursue real excellence thus we do more than the normal. I always have it in mind that I must be remembered not only for good work, but excel-lent work.
What is the one thing you would say has driven your success at work?
My desire to grow and to learn from the best. I always remind myself that I am not on earth to balance the ecosystem but rather to leave a lasting impact. I want things to be better than I met them. That is why I go the extra mile. This journey is really not only about me, but about those who will come after me, and ultimately pleasing my maker. This is why I give my best to every project like my life depends on it.
When I joined Stratcomm Africa I was informed that I was added to the family to make a difference and that excited me because this is my driving principle. To make a difference everywhere God places me.
What next for your comms career.
I want to be an expert in government relations, a professional strategist and lobbyist.
