In our Meet the Team series, we’re excited to spotlight the dedicated AKCG team members serving our valued clients.
This week, meet Colby Gallagher, Vice President at AKCG. Colby works with current and prospective clients in the firm’s crisis communications practice.
What motivated you to seek a career in communications?
Effective communication can develop relationships, instill trust, demand change, prevent harm, mend mistakes and evoke emotion. Poor communication, or a lack thereof, can divide people, break connections, allow injustices, cause damage and incite negative action. Our words hold a lot of power, and we can’t rely on intent, assumptions, culture or reputation to be enough.
I began my career as a multimedia journalist because I wanted to use the power of communication and storytelling to connect people and help drive effective action. Stories are so often a way to relate to others in a world where you might have never crossed paths or recognized commonalities. How many times have you read, heard or watched a story about someone and seen yourself or someone you know in it? And how many times has that caused you to act – whether it was donating to a cause, Google searching for more information, talking about it with others, joining a group or trying a new activity? That’s effective communication, and it can be used for so much good.
My career path hasn’t been linear or expected, I could have never predicted where I’d end up. However, no matter what role I’ve been in, its focus has always been on connecting others through words and stories.
Are there specific areas of communications that you specialize in or are particularly passionate about?
This might not come as a shock, but I enjoy crisis communications! I sought an opportunity in this field because the strategy behind it is critical and I believe in it. The pandemic and its ensuing isolatization truly shined a light on why we need efficient, consistent communication, and not just when we’re forced to do it. Getting to focus on helping people and organizations at a time when they need it most is really rewarding. Going through a tough situation or issue can be really uncomfortable and the desire to avoid it is strong for many. It’s a great feeling to help instill confidence in others so that they can be successful in getting through a crisis, big or small.
I also enjoy learning about new industries and identifying what story angles make a person, organization or company unique. My career has allowed me to meet some amazing people doing incredible work. It’s always interesting to see how something can be a normal part of a person’s daily life and doesn’t cross their mind as a story they should be sharing. I might not be working as a journalist anymore, but I’m always listening and keeping that hat on.
What about AKCG encouraged you to join the team?
The vision, the team and the work. We are clear on the practices we operate, and we are intentional with where we focus our time, talents and efforts. This made it easy to understand and to get behind as part of the leadership team. I feel really fortunate to be part of AKCG and have already seen what our people are capable of. I’m excited to see what we continue to accomplish in the future!
How do you collaborate with other team members and departments within AKCG?
I’d be remiss if I didn’t again stress the importance of communications here! Internal communications can often be even more important than what you’re saying externally. This industry is an incredibly collaborative one, and it’s a large part of what we do. Our documents are always shared and edited by multiple people with tracked changes so we can understand exactly why we’re making certain recommendations. In addition to that, technology helps us to be connected during remote work, even if we’re hours away from each other. Whether it’s through Teams calls and chats, emails, phone calls or face-to-face meetings, I don’t go more than 30 minutes without connecting with a colleague, even if that’s to send the occasional GIF. (Is my millennial showing?)
How do you center yourself during/after a busy work week?
I am a big believer in finding a physical activity that you enjoy. For me, that’s lifting weights. It’s such a great way to decompress and reap the mental health benefits when you work in a high stress, busy industry. Beyond that, I make sure I’m practicing a work-life balance by connecting with my family and friends. My former career led me to live hundreds of miles away from them for almost a decade, so I don’t take being back near them for granted. As an introvert in a highly social job, it can be easy to read books, play video games and watch movies all the time outside of work! I try to be intentional with spending time with the important people in my life.
