Proud Manager Moments

Here at Sutherlandgold we not only strive to achieve greatness for our clients, but we do our best to recognize greatness within our team. Emulating our startup client mentality, you can expect to see the #MomentsofGreatness agency Slack channel buzzing daily with the latest media wins from employees of every level — from a New York Times feature story for Brex, to a byline placed in The Next Web for Coalition, to a junior staffer landing their first exclusive for an important announcement for Common Networks in CNET. There is no shortage of media wins to celebrate from our talented group.

But I wanted to dig deeper, beyond the media wins and briefings secured, to ask the leadership team here at SG, “What work are you most proud of?” Consistently, managers were most proud of the growth and development of the colleagues that they closely manage.

With that in mind, I wanted to find out: what makes this job worthwhile beyond the client wins? What I found was there is more that fuels the leaders at our agency, and the biggest wins are more qualitative and related to personal growth. In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, each of us, individually, may miss some of the specific steps others take to grow as public relations and client service professionals. However, all these touchpoints are incredibly meaningful and should be celebrated.

Here are some thoughts from managers here at SG on their proudest manager moments:

Owning Projects “Soup to Nuts”

Account Supervisor Kirsty said her proudest manager moments are watching junior teammates own a full strategy. The process goes from raising an opportunity to the team with a well thought-out approach, to bringing the idea to the client, and coordinating materials needed, to finally seeing the fruits of their labor in media coverage. “I’m so impressed when I see our junior staff own complete end-to-end execution of highly strategic projects. It’s so rewarding to watch our team go above and beyond their roles and add value to our clients.”

Running With It

As a manager, you are always giving your direct reports feedback, suggestions, and tools to continually grow within their PR career — whether it be writing, client management, team management, or ownership/proactiveness. However, for Samantha, Director at SG, it’s not every day that people take feedback to heart and actually apply or implement it into their role moving forward. “I have to say, I am super proud of everyone I manage as this is something they are all really amazing at. It is almost like a proud mom moment (and manager moment) when you share this feedback with someone, and you get to witness them making changes, being more proactive, and really just blossoming and growing in their roles and as a PR person.”

For Samantha, it’s an even bigger proud mom/manager moment when she hears feedback from others that they are noticing a difference. She is especially touched when a third party is impressed with the work her mentee is producing. “Nothing makes me more proud than seeing everyone be open to these areas, and really try and put them into practice and grow! It shows that they listen to what is being said to them, take feedback in stride, and care about their career and growth.“

Taking a Leap

Over the last two years, Michelle, the content marketing strategist at SG has seen several people really step up and rise to the occasion when it comes to writing. “I think a lot of people are afraid to do it. Maybe we had bad experiences in college, or for whatever reason, we doubt ourselves.” But what has made her proudest is seeing multiple team members take the initiative to pitch her an idea they are passionate about, follow-through, and write about it on the company blog.

She says, “During each step of the editorial process, I got to see each person think critically, show me how much they care about their clients or a particular topic, and their willingness to grow was inspiring. And for those writers who have pitched several times or are on the blog regularly, their ideas, how they think about writing, and their own ability to determine what makes a compelling story has made their voice or media-savvy stronger and even more essential.”

Playing to Your Strengths, and Owning Them

Nicole, a Senior Account Supervisor at SG said it best, “I get to watch greatness daily. The people I manage make that aspect of my job effortless.” Nicole says she’s lucky enough to work with some of her direct reports on the accounts she manages. She gets to watch her direct reports communicate effectively and make impactful changes on the accounts they touch, even at more junior levels. “It’s so rewarding to have the opportunity to watch the people I manage work together, leverage their unique strengths, and continue to challenge themselves, gaining confidence and growing through learning, daily.”

The common thread found with each proud manager moment is watching teammates seize the opportunities available to them. Not staying stagnant in their roles, but instead, observing and learning every day. And having the inner motivation to challenge themselves to always strive to punch above their weight. We are so proud of our small but mighty group and can’t wait to see what other greatness is in store for our team.