InTransition 124: Alison Wright on crisis management at the NGA

This week on InTransition we speak with Alison Wright, Assistant Director of the National Gallery of Australia and all-round strategic marketing and communications guru. Join us in this funny and frank account of her career and lessons learned as Alison delves into how she’s navigated turbulent times at the NGA, and why her straight-shooting style works. "I think that we deploy enormous filters [in our professional lives], I see it every day, and I've seen it all throughout my career. I do not do is deploy those filters... I'm simply not interested in the filter because it's cutting out a lot of time, but also, it doesn't enable a truth telling environment.” Alison’s career spans 20 years, from working as a journalist in regional Australia to leading the ABC’s Sydney newsroom, embracing PR in China and starting as the Head of Communication at the peak of an international scandal at the NGA. Alison talks managing the message, why permission to fail is a must, the switch from journalism to “the dark side” and her perpetual fear of being like everyone else. Also in this episode: When to cut the BS and get to the point; When complete transparency is the best way to work with the media; The one thing all public servants should remember to make themselves a better worker; and Why the best time to step into a communications role may be when they’re “knee-deep in it”. What is content communication? It is a strategic, measurable, and accountable business process that relies on the creation, curation, and distribution of useful, relevant, and consistent content. The purpose is to engage and inform a specific audience in order to achieve a desired citizen and/or stakeholder action. That is the practise and the process of content communication.