Finding a New Calling: PR and Change Management

There’s something exhilarating in finding that, after a 40+ year journey in Public Relations, I’m finally seeing PR hit its sweet spot in the world of Change Management. It’s not that PR wasn’t meaningful before—far from it. But there’s a natural progression I hadn’t anticipated that feels like everything’s come full circle.

The Melbourne Mandate: A PR Calling for the Big Picture

For those unfamiliar, the Melbourne Mandate was a sort of manifesto for PR pros worldwide, a call to arms to practice PR as something more profound and lasting. It championed trust, transparency, and ethical alignment as the lifeblood of PR work—a vision I could get behind from day one.

But I’ll admit, back in the early days, this was a high bar. PR often still boiled down to the “spin doctor” tropes of corporate messaging and firefighting for a client’s image. In the background, we were all holding on to those Melbourne Mandate ideals, trying to make them our day-to-day reality. It’s taken years, but as organizations started to get it—finally seeing that image and ethics need to live in harmony—I’m seeing a similar realization unfold in Change Management.

PR as a Bridge, Not a Megaphone

If the Melbourne Mandate gave PR a roadmap for the higher ground, then Change Management handed us the keys to the whole darn car. There’s something beautifully ironic about PR: we started off as messengers, but as organizations grew more complex, we found ourselves as bridge builders. We evolved from announcers to engagers. Our skill sets became less about selling and more about making meaningful connections, getting to the heart of what people really feel, fear, and need to move forward together.

PR gave us those skills. Think about it—stakeholder analysis, empathetic messaging, guiding people through a new idea without leaving them in the dust. That’s Change Management in a nutshell. So here we are, all these years later, with PR skillsets that fit Change Management like a well-worn glove.

Finding Purpose: Helping People Embrace Change

Now we’re into the good stuff. The Melbourne Mandate, at its heart, speaks to building sustainable trust and loyalty. That trust? It doesn’t just get built through nice words; it comes from actions that reinforce our values, from leaders down to employees. It’s thrilling to see PR principles work within Change Management to do this exact thing.

It’s not just about putting on a brave face during an organizational shakeup—it’s about giving people the confidence to step into it, to know they’re supported. Think of all the times we’ve had to communicate complicated, sometimes painful, changes and still manage to keep trust intact. PR gave us the roadmap, but Change Management? It’s given us the power to see it through, to actually make that trust happen.

Guarding the Ethics—No Spin Zone

One of the hardest parts about watching PR grow up was dealing with that “spin” reputation. It’s one we’ve worked hard to shake off because, let’s be honest, the best PR isn’t spin at all—it’s grounded in truth. The Melbourne Mandate’s emphasis on ethics and transparency felt like a lifeline back then. In Change Management, this commitment to transparency isn’t just encouraged; it’s mandatory. We aren’t selling a product; we’re asking people to change behaviors, routines, or even values.

Take it from someone who’s seen her share of crises: there’s no shortcut to trust. You can’t sugarcoat or manipulate your way through real change; you have to be honest. This is where Change Management’s insistence on ethical clarity and genuine buy-in aligns so well with PR’s highest calling.

Why PR and Change Management are a Perfect Fit

In Change Management, I see the future for PR veterans—a new frontier that marries everything we’ve been building toward all these years. Change Management is the next evolution for PR pros who are ready to make real, lasting impacts. It’s the future I wish I’d known to imagine, one where every communication, every conversation, every “tough call” is an opportunity to build something lasting. We’re not just reacting; we’re shaping the future of our organizations from the inside out.

For those of us who’ve spent decades helping organizations tell their stories, it’s invigorating to step into a role where our skills can actually shape the story, not just tell it. And that, I think, is what I’ve been searching for all along.

The Full Circle Moment

At this point in my career, finding Change Management feels like coming home. It’s the culmination of years of honing skills, of believing that our work could mean something bigger. Here, our voices help people and organizations not just survive change but embrace it. For any PR pro who’s ever felt like something was missing from the agency work, I’m here to tell you, it’s out there—and it’s waiting in Change Management.

So here’s to the Melbourne Mandate, to Change Management, and to the PR skills that got us here. We’re building something better, stronger, and truer than I ever dreamed.