This article was written by Jade Arnaout, Communications Strategist with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. For more pieces like this, see our government innovation newsfeed.

The more I travel and meet people, the more I realise that we all have the same basic needs, regardless of our background: human beings want to be nourished and sheltered.

Humans also strive for a sense of belonging to a community where they feel accepted for who they are.

As a public servant, you can only have a positive impact within your work environment and social circles once you know who you are at your core, what you specifically wish to achieve and, last but not least, communicate it effectively to your desired audience.

Engage in self-care

There has recently been a lot of buzz the need to recognise the vulnerability of our human condition and the need to acknowledge that we all have vulnerabilities. But what does it actually mean?

Vulnerability and weakness are definitely not synonymous. To be able to take good care of yourself, you first have to take a deep look inside to allow your most authentic self to radiate in your daily life and dealings with others.

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You can allow yourself to be vulnerable and get to know who you are, at your core, by engaging in meditative practices. I have been regularly practising meditation for two years, which has allowed me to look at life in a different way, foster a deeper connection with myself and with the world around me.

Meditation has also strengthened my belief that the energy of the universe is reflected within each and every one of us. There exists an organic intelligence that is far superior to us as conscious beings — the onus is on us to trust that organic intelligence. Thanks to the recognition of our shared vulnerability, we are getting to know each other as fellow humans!

No culture is perfect

As a public affairs and policy professional based in Canada, I often think about the social contract between people and government as a manifestation of order in chaos, which is essentially my preferred way to describe the universe.

There are major socio-economic and geopolitical forces redefining our roles as public servants across the world which we will never be able to successfully navigate in silos. This is why I like to constantly remind myself of the fact that we are social creatures by nature: we have a biological need to be surrounded by other people in order to thrive.

Growing up in Lebanon, I was very well surrounded by my extended family.

We are unfortunately losing our kinship ties in the Western world, especially in North America. These kinship values are what define us to the core as human beings: these same values help us do great work as public servants, especially when we embrace the fact that, in a globalised world, no culture is perfect and we can all learn from one another.

Storytelling

Knowing yourself and your goals can only materialise if you’re able to effectively communicate your key messages in a targeted manner. No matter how good and specific your intentions may be, your work as a public servant risks failing if it is not clearly communicated.

you will never be able to impact others without clear goals

Knowing your audience is the number one rule of thumb in the world of communications. What’s in it for your audience? You always have to answer this question, no matter how large your audience may be, be it the team of five coworkers you need buy-in from for a project, or the five million citizens of a country you strive to impact as public servants.

Once you have determined who your target audience is, you should know that data is important, so are stories you use to illustrate your data. Providing a fact void of real-life contextualisation does not help much — you want to be relatable on a human level.

You need to earn people’s trust in your personal and professional life — it all starts with the right attitude, before skill and competence.

As a storyteller, your duty is to take the time to always be honest, be willing to learn from and listen to others’ stories. The more often you make eye contact with and listen to people around you, the more you can understand, help and impact them in meaningful ways.

Mind, body and soul

You are responsible for nurturing yourself. Having a self-growth mindset, whereby you constantly seek knowledge to improve yourself, will help you be bold without surrendering to your fears.

The first step to successfully impacting people in your life is to accept yourself as you are, including your insecurities, in order to propel yourself forward.

If you know that you are at peace with who you are, you will effortlessly be in a position to positively influence others. However, you will never be able to impact others without clear goals. You may want to spend some time writing your priorities down – such a document would serve as an ever-evolving reminder of your goals.

I have personally invested some time reflecting on and writing personal objectives relating to the three areas of my life, namely my relationship with myself (physical and mental health), my relationship with others (family, friends, work and community service) and my relationship with the universe (spirituality and self-discovery).

Earning your audience’s trust is the gateway to long-lasting contributions. You cannot be genuinely open without allowing yourself to be vulnerable — only a true leader is able to expose their true self. When you know yourself, you can successfully project the best version of your being onto people in the most seamless and positive of ways and, as a result, help humanity move forward as a whole. — Jade Arnaout

(Photo credit: Unsplash)