For those of you who follow me on LinkedIn, I’m back to blogging. I’ve been a little distracted with work and it has been a while. My personal word for 2018 is Discipline and one thing I need to be more disciplined about is blogging regularly.

I was recently inspired by Rachel Miller’s series on being a consultant, and for those of you considering taking the plunge, it’s a great read with a lot of valuable information and insights. I don’t know what I’d do without my daily dose of inspiration from the communication pros I admire globally including Rachel Miller, Jim Schaffer, Michael Klein, Chuck Gose, Shel Holtz, Carol Kinsey-Goman and Angela Sinickas (there are many more but I can’t list them all).

I thought I’d give a series a try that would provide insight on communication career options, since I’ve tried them all and have spent time fine-tuning and shaping the communication career that’s right for me (I would have never realized that I’d be testing the waters at 50 and having so much fun).

What questions do you want me to answer?

After over 20 years leading Internal Communication in corporations, and spending the past three years as a strategic consultant, here’s my biggest ‘AHA’: There are no rules, just learning. The goal is to focus on the experience versus the expectation.

I’ve also learned that over time, your needs and wants change. There are moments when climbing the career ladder, a title and/or dollars are more important; and other times when the focus on purpose, balance and flexibility take precedence. The bottom line is what you’re trying to find is work that is right for YOU and only YOU! There are no wrong answers.

The goal is to focus on the experience versus the expectation.

Over the next few weeks, I will focus on the benefits and the challenges of the following communication careers:

1. In-house Communication Professional
2. Serial Contractor
3. Independent Consultant
4. Coach, Facilitator, Trainer
5. Agency

Here’s what I need from you. What questions do you want me to answer? If you are in one of these careers, why do you love what you do? What are your challenges? Please note that I may use your comments and tweets within my blog series (I got this idea from Rachel). If you’d like to contribute and remain anonymous, just send me an email at priya.bates[at]innerstrengthcommunication.com .

I’m expecting my communication community to help me meet my goal of blogging regularly. So don’t let me fall off the blogging wagon.

There are also some other places where I am contributing to the IC conversation this month:

• IABC Circle of Fellows Tackle Trust – Webinar on Thursday February 15, 2018 at noon ET
• 27 IC Pros Reveal their Hopes and Predictions for 2018 – Published by UK-based H&H
• Disrupting the Function of IC – An FREE ebook published by IC Kollectif
• Internal Communication 2017 & 2018, From Hope to Reality – Published by IC Kollectif

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