Dafnaitly.
I used to think there was something wrong with me.
All around me, people seemed fine in the same job for years. I needed constant change.
I’ve always loved combinations. Trying out different projects. Meeting new people. Learning. Curiosity leading me to all sorts of discoveries. Preferring a sample of each over lots of just one.
As a kid, I zigzagged between hobbies and pursuits. I needed to get to the point. Immediately. Then I was ready to sink my teeth into the next thing (especially if mint chocolate chip ice cream was involved).
I had always loved people and words, so I embarked on a career in strategic communication: a spokesperson role at a world-class university; creator of content of the first website of a general hospital; public relations for an applied research institute; marketing manager of a fast-growing startup. Amazing organizations. Each one.
So what drove me to make the most of an opportunity, exhaust it and move on to the next thing?
Luckily for me, it turns out that the impatient, nagging voice shouting “next!” was actually my superpower – multidisciplinary curiosity expressed with clarity - begging to be fed a fresh supply of creative stimulation, to be applied in new ways.
Luckily for me, I’ve listened to it. Again and again. For over twenty years.
Along the way, I’ve reached a growing understanding of how complex and interconnected the systems and phenomena in our world truly are. And these global characteristics of complexity and interconnectedness are the precise reasons why it’s so crucial for (everyone, and especially) leaders in their fields to communicate with clarity.
The complexity and increasing specificity of domain knowledge makes it harder and harder to explain to someone from a different field, or even a sub-domain of your own field what exactly you mean. Why it’s important. Where the problem lies. Why your direction for solution is so promising. And perhaps, ultimately, what they stand to gain by joining forces with you.
And you’ll always need to explain it to someone from a different field. Every day. The interconnected nature of our global reality manifests itself in every type of collaboration you can imagine: with colleagues of complementary skill sets; financial advisors, decision makers, investors and supporters; and, most importantly, those you serve.
And if the challenge of getting these complex, high stakes messages across to key other-domain audiences effectively isn’t daunting enough, let’s add sweat-inducing time pressure into the mix, shall we? Both your own as a person of multiple, pressing responsibilities at all times, as well as your audiences’ 3-minute attention span and overflowing pile of competing prospects to review…
I get it. Truly. And that’s why I’m here to help you. Dafnaitly.