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Different Industries... Yet It's Always About the People
Published about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hello Reader,
Right now, my calendar reads like a strange cross-section of the economy. One day I'm with a non-profit helping people back into the workforce. The next, a bank and an insurance company. Then an entertainment company, a PR agency, a post-secondary institution, a municipal government, a premium retirement residence, and an industry association representing an entire profession. All in the same month.
On paper, these clients have almost nothing in common. Different sectors, different pressures, different vocabularies for what "success" even means.
But sit in enough of these rooms back to back, like I do, and you start to notice the same thing underneath every single one of them: it's never really about the skill gap they called me in for. It's about how people treat each other when something's on the line, a promotion, a client relationship, a first impression, a hard conversation. Etiquette, at its core, isn't about which fork to use. It's about consideration, respect, and honesty, and whether people can feel that from you in the room.
Different Rooms, Same Conversation
Take the non-profit employment centre. Its own team has to model the same confidence and professional presence they're coaching job seekers toward, or the advice rings hollow. Down the street, a bank and an insurance company are teaching staff how to hold a hard conversation without losing the client relationship on the other side of it. A PR agency needs people who can earn a client's trust almost on contact, where the first few seconds decide everything. A post-secondary institution wants its students to walk into an interview like they already belong in the room. A municipal government is training staff to build public trust one small interaction at a time, since that's often the only interaction a resident ever has with the city. An entertainment company is managing bigger personalities and higher stakes, but the same need for grace under pressure. A retirement living operator has to earn trust twice over, with residents, and with the anxious families making one of the hardest decisions of their lives. And an industry association needs its people to carry an entire profession's credibility every time they speak.
Different rooms. Different stakes. Same fix: lead with human connection, and the etiquette takes care of itself.
From This Month's Training Room
This is exactly what I've been building into some programs I'm running with some of these clients right now. A few pieces I keep coming back to with their teams:
Asking better questions - active listening that builds on what someone just said, instead of running through a mental checklist
Reading the room - noticing the social cues and knowing when to shift gears
Leading the agenda - guiding a conversation and redirecting it without losing the room
Pushing back with authority - holding your ground as the expert, without losing the relationship
None of this is about scripts. It's about presence. And it's the same thread running through every client I named above.
If this sounds like something your team needs, take a look at the programs I build around exactly this.
If you haven't listened yet, go back to last week's episode with Salma Khalaf. I'm bringing it back because of something that happened after it aired. Someone, not a guest, not a client, just someone who listened, shared it with their whole team. It made them think about the conversations they're already having around International Day of the Girl: identity, belonging, the barriers young people face just to be seen and heard.
Honestly, that's the part I keep thinking about. You tell a true story, and it goes places you never expected.
Early in my career, I built a community for advertising and marketing professionals that grew to 5,000 members. I didn't do it by pitching. I did it by giving, showing up consistently, making introductions, and treating every connection like it mattered, long before I knew there was a name for that approach.
Turns out, there is one. It's the "give, give, give" mindset, and it's one of the core ideas I'll be covering in a workshop I'm leading with the Canadian Marketing Association: How to Network Like a Top Marketer.
If you've ever walked into a room full of strangers with no idea how to start a conversation that actually goes somewhere, this one's for you. We'll cover your natural networking style, the WAVE framework for starting and sustaining conversations, and the follow-up habits that turn a quick intro into a real relationship.
Free for CMA members, $25 for non-members, and worth 0.50 CPD credit if you need it..
Help us spread the word to your Gen Z colleagues - anyone 29 and under in the workplace.
Career chats over drinks. We chat. We network. We share stories. I'll offer advice if asked - after years of coaching, training, and running a recruitment agency, I've got no shortage of stories to swap either.
A huge thanks to Joanne Sparrow of Career Ambitions, our Food & Beverage Sponsor for the evening.
Subscribe for tips on handling workplace challenges, building communication and social skills, and exclusive course updates. Hear success stories from professionals, perfect for young professionals and leaders aiming to sharpen their skills and foster respect.
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