Trailblazers and leaders: Karen Tippett-Lehane

Karen Tippett-Lehane | Owner | TippettPR & Social Ltd.

How did you get into Marketing & Comms?

I fell into it. I studied French and Japanese at University and took a job with a PR agency in Paris to continue improving my language skills. The agency I began my career with had a helicopter company doing tours over the Grand Canyon as their client. I had worked as a narrator on those tours for French and Japanese tourists on a Summer job after graduation.

What does an average day look like?

Whilst there’s no average day, there are constants that are deal breakers for me to ensure structure: A morning workout and 30 minutes to update myself on the news cycle including industry-specific developments. After that my days are filled with a mix of client contact, media reach out, collaboration meetings, and in line with each client’s annual plan, events, campaign rollouts, and issues management on a reactive basis.

What advice keeps you going in challenging times?

Do the thing in front of you, pause, then do the thing after that.

What is the one thing you wish you’d known when you started working in comms?

Societal tropes that infect the workplace are not opportunities for individual growth focus. In a nutshell, trust your gut, it’s not always you.

What’s your greatest achievement to date?

Being solvent, sane, satisfied, and long-term retained for the 12 years I’ve been in business.

Is there a particular comms campaign that you’ve seen in your career that you didn’t work on but wish you had?

The Pay Gap Bot. Simple, potent, purposeful.

What’s the key skill you think a successful PR/comms/marketing pro requires?

Empathy. Always.