Joanna Rolsholm With Grace
Welcome to With Grace. This week, we feature Joanna Rosholm, Founder and Partner at Original Strategies. After serving as Press Secretary to First Lady Michelle Obama and leading Brand at Snap, Joanna now advises social impact clients in PR. Her insight on mistakes: “Never waste a good one.”
What’s an unexpected tool you love?
Superhuman. I was never an inbox-zero person until I signed up, and now I am so much less stressed throughout and at the end of the day. Hot tip: you have to take them up on their intro setup video chat, or else it's all for nothing.
What’s a key quality or trait you believe is essential for leaders?
Leaders have to understand what they are particularly good at, and more importantly, what they are not particularly good at. Hire to fill those holes in your abilities, and always hire people that are smarter than you.
What motivates you to keep pushing forward in your work?
Our clients! I pinch myself constantly that I get to work with so many incredible, driven changemakers. Add to that the fact that the folks on our team are also incredible, driven changemakers and it’s a dream scenario.
How do you approach decision-making in high-stakes scenarios?
We call ourselves Original Strategies for a reason. We never get started with a client without knowing what the long term win is so we can craft a strategy to get us there. It’s something we took with us from our time in the White House working for First Lady Michelle Obama. Having a thoughtful strategy has always helped us guide our clients when new opportunities arise (should we do this?) or when crisis scenarios pop up (what should we do?).
What’s the best advice you’ve received, personally and professionally?
Recently our client Dr. Becky Kennedy told us that a grade school teacher of hers had told her something to the effect of, “If something feels too hard, then the first step is likely not simple enough.” I utilize this personally and I also use it with clients! (And give full credit of course.)
What interview question do you always ask without fail?
“What’s your favorite piece of furniture in your home?” I actually stole this from my husband who always asks this question. It can come off as a really weird, out of left field question, but, particularly in public relations, how someone answers this question tells you a lot about their ability to process the micro and the macro at the same time, while also (hopefully) giving you some insight into their personality and home life. For example, imagine if someone answers with “My couch” and little or nothing else, vs someone who answers with “my dining table which my dad and I built together – he has had me working with him in his workshop since I was ten!”
What’s something you had to learn firsthand to truly understand?
Mistakes are inevitable and are the best teacher. Never waste a good mistake. (And always own up to it completely.)
What do first-time employees get wrong?
Employees just getting started in their career often think they cannot or should not tell their supervisor when they are overwhelmed because they think it appears as some sort of weakness. The truth is that asking your supervisor for help prioritizing your workload is a huge marker of maturity and aids in communication. It tells your supervisor that you want to do your best work, you do not want to burn out and that conversation gives them a better heads up that something they are expecting, like a draft statement or press release, may take longer than expected.
