A public relations specialist is a
person who creates and manages their clients image and brand through various
mass mediums. Their daily tasks are long and changes daily depending on the
client. A public relations specialist functions and responsibilities are
tailored to their individual clients and with some clients they can be also be
in a managerial role. Some PR specialists work independently and others work on
a team. A PR manager has the same duties as an independent PR specialist but overseas
an entire staff.
It is vital for a PR manager to
understand the effective way in managing their staff. Some PR managers have found
themselves in managerial roles with no experience in management and they face
multiple challenges. Here are some key points that a PR manager should keep in
mind to be successful while also having the managerial hat.
1. It is important to understand how to be a leader not a boss.
There is a major difference with being
a boss versus being a leader. A boss gives orders to their staff and tells
people what to do. A leader inspires and
motivates people to want to do their job. The ability to be a leader rather
than a boss is more effective with managing and is better overall for both
parties.
2. Learning to trust your staff to
take on projects.
It is really important that managers
give their staff projects to participate in and work on rather than just giving
them simple daily tasks. If a manager gives their staff only tasks, then the
staff will start to feel that they don’t have any importance and will not give
their all to their job. This will also give their staff a sense of achievement
and ownership which will make the employee want to work and feel inspired to
give their all.
3. Learning to incorporate the staff
in crisis situations.
PR managers also need to learn to
incorporate the staff when a problem arises. This could bring different
outlooks and solutions to the problem and will give both the manager and the
employee a sense of how to handle situations. If the employee handles the
situation well with a similar outlook then the manager knows that they can lean
on them to assist with any problems in the near future. If the employee does
not understand the situation or does not solve the problem the way the manager
sees fit then they have to decide if they can be taught how to solve the
problem or maybe the job is not the right fit.
-Sara
