My name is Blair Kahora Cardinal, and I’m about to fly the coop.
In late December, my husband and I are due with our first Baby Bird Cardinal. Not only are we scrambling to assemble the nursery and read every parenting book on the planet, but I’m also hustling in the office to create smooth account transitions for my clients and colleagues. What I’ve found is that there’s no shortage of things to consider when you’re going to be out for three months.
1. Duck, Duck, Goose
How do you temporarily restructure an account to be sure there is no blip in service when the lead takes a hiatus?
We’ve taken special care over the past few months to naturally transition a few team members onto each of my accounts or into the “liaison” role. It’s been tricky to piece together the puzzle, because to put in more time on my accounts means that time on other accounts needs to be rejiggered. This has allowed me to give everyone a bird’s eye view of everything I do as lead—from understanding different personalities and recognizing organizational sensitivities to delivering results that meet expectations and keeping the team focused. The process has actually been tremendously helpful to me, because I’m forcing myself to update existing and/or create additional strategic documents.
2. Nesting is my Albatross
What do you do when your nest is a mess?
From what I understand, nesting is something that all soon-to-be-parents experience. However, it has expanded beyond the four walls of my house. I’m an organized person—I color-code everything, have lists out the wazoo, etc.—but my co-workers can attest to the fact that it looks like a tornado flew through my office. I can find you anything on my desk in 10 seconds, but no one else understands my personal organizational system. So, I’ve begun the arduous task of creating a more visibly organized nest. My teams need to be able to find important files, media clips, and even multi-colored highlighters for time reports!
3. Molting an Inbox Full of Emails
How do you cull 30,000 client emails to make the most important exchanges readily accessible to your colleagues?
If I’m being completely honest, my email inbox is in disarray. (I really hope there are other PR pros who can identify—I mean, we’d rather spend time servicing our clients than cleaning out our inboxes, right!?) I can easily remember who sent me what and when, and I’m able to locate the emails promptly. But again, this would be a real chore for anyone not familiar with my “system.” Okay, I have no real system for this one. So, now I have to begin organizing thousands of emails.
4. Separation from the Flock
Now that I’ve prepared the teams, what about me?
A Rowan University student recently interviewed me for a school project, and she asked me about my MBA. I told her that I busted my tail feathers to earn my degree while still working full-time at Buchanan (while also serving as President of PRSA Philadelphia) because I wanted to be sure I never stepped away from the PR industry. I explained that if you look the other way, even briefly, all of a sudden you’re very far behind your peers. Her question sparked a great deal of anxiety for me—how am I going to keep my skills sharp while out for three months? I told her that I was going to stay active on social media, increase my news consumption and read industry articles to keep up on the hottest trends. We shall see if that actually happens once the stork drops off Baby Bird.
Well, now I’ve successfully stressed myself out. Any other suggestions to create flawless account transitions for a temporary absence?