Schedule of Events

Most communications professionals have spent their careers on one side of the table—either inside the organization navigating politics and stakeholder complexity or outside bringing fresh eyes and strategic discipline. Few have worked deeply on both sides, creating a gap that costs organizations more than they realize.

Drawing on lived experience in both agency and in-house roles, and grounded in the realities of nuanced projects, Natalie Pastuszak of Instdio Communications will unpack what strategic sequencing looks like when the story is still forming. We'll explore where in-house communicators tend to over-protect and where external advisors tend to over-push—and how the most effective strategies emerge from the tension between the two.

This session is ideal for in-house communications professionals who work with or manage external agency partners, as well as agency leaders who want to understand what it really looks like on the other side.

Learning Objectives:
- Recognize the warning signs of ""the myth of readiness"" that can stall momentum, and articulate the case for communications-led sequencing in complex or evolving projects.
- Gain an understanding of combined in-house context and external perspective as the basis for stronger communications strategies and better outcomes than either can achieve alone.
- Apply an inside/out framework to define clearer roles between in-house and external communications partners to strengthen strategic alignment and accountability.