There is no doubt 2020 has been a year for the books. The beginning of the year looked promising. The possibilities seemed endless. To help me gain more new-business insight and learn what agency principals want from emerging leaders, I attended the IPREX 2020 Global Leadership Conference in Boston with my colleague, Angelica Flynn. IPREX is a global network of communication agencies working across the spectrum of industry sectors and practice disciplines. The conference equipped us with new-business strategies and agency culture-building techniques, and we were excited to get back to the office and implement what we learned. But, alas, as soon as we returned, businesses across all industries began working from home because of COVID-19.
In the blink of an eye, our firm was forced to shift operations to a work-from-home format. In those early moments of uncertainty, challenge and forced change, As I look back over the past year, I recognize that our team collectively realized the undeniable importance of sticking together to keep the business moving forward and ensuring our clients were still serviced to the level of excellence they deserve.
As we approach the end of 2020, below are three things I, and my fellow AKCG team members, are thankful for this season.
Our amazing clients.
Where would we be without our incredible clients? This year has been challenging for many of those with whom we work, and we are proud to represent and counsel them through the roughest of waters. We are grateful for the trust our clients put in our team to help accomplish their goals. We work hard to build strong synergies and partnerships, which is not only essential to a mutually beneficial relationship, but also a mindset ingrained within our culture.
Our network partners.
AKCG proudly belongs to several independently owned public relations agency networks, including the Croft Society and IPREX. From our firm’s principals to our emerging leaders, we have leaned on our partner agencies to overcome various hurdles brought on by the pandemic, including shifting agency operations, onboarding staff virtually, and keeping staff morale and engagement high.
Our team.
Our strong agency culture has helped our team navigate these challenging months – and we have done it together. We believe in and support each other, and without our psychologically safe environment – one that fosters candid conversations, builds camaraderie and enjoys collegial fun – we could have easily lost focus. But, with our strong “family” mindset, we have grown stronger together during this pandemic, even without physically being together every day.
During this season of reflection and gratefulness, our team remains thankful. Sure, we may not be able to meet with our families and feast, laugh and reminisce on familial past times, but we can be thankful for so many other things. We do not know what the next few months will bring, but one thing is certain: we will continue to count our blessings as we look forward to 2021.
We wish our clients, colleagues and friends a happy and healthy holiday season.
