Rising to the Challenge in a Polarizing World

"The world today is deeply interconnected," stated McKinsey in the opening to a recent article, citing cross-border flows of trade, services, capital, people, data and ideas, all of which have marked an era of globalization. This contradicts the increasing voices at the opposite end of the spectrum, where unexpected events like global supply chain problems, the Covid-19 crisis, conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and growing ideological differences have been cited as signs of deglobalization or a polarized world. Between the two opposing positions are people, navigating the complexities of our world, trying to make sense of it all and what it means for the future.

This is where the role of communicators has become so vital. As communicators, we assume the responsibility of bringing meaning to the mad complexity around us and articulating clear, understandable and compelling stories for our organizations to connect with stakeholders and make them see our organizations’ positive contribution. 

During the Page offsite earlier this month, as Chair of Page Up, I summarized the business landscape and outlined my priorities in helping members navigate the complex environment in which we operate. 

At our core, communicators build bridges of understanding, stronger relationships with people and create greater levels of positive impact and change. We have embraced our responsibility as communicators, and as a community of like-minded individuals, we are doing our bit to counter the polarizing forces at play, strongly stating that we serve a united purpose of delivering a more connected tomorrow. 

Over the next two years, with the help of members and the Page team, I’m determined to drive meaningful impact. How will we do this? By building on the great platform I have inherited to achieve more growth in membership, more engagement, more connections, more learning, and increasing our contributions to the industry as thought leaders. 

Building on our strong foundation and our diverse community, we have access to subject matter experts and information, but we need to leverage this more, for both learning and strengthening of our teams. 

The future is clear — we are aiming to reinforce our leadership individually and as a community, emphasising the value of communications in an unpredictable world. Using SEAL, as an acronym, we are striving to Strengthen and unlock deeper connections between people, geographies and ideas. We aim to Engage as a community of experts with each other, and with other leaders in their fields. We hope to provide Access to new learnings and knowledge. And, we want to Lead as a community on the discourses, trends and shifts impacting our profession and the sectors we occupy. 

As we build on this vision, I am confident that as a community we will strengthen our membership base, reaching new heights. We have an opportunity ahead of us to help make sense of our unpredictable, polarizing world, and positively contribute to our organizations’ roles in it.