Who runs the World? Olivia Pope (and PR Girls)!

Olivia Pope was back in action last week with the season 4 premier of Scandal. Olivia Pope & Associates may be defunct (for now!), but Olivia proves “Once a fixer, always a fixer.” Lawyer or not, she’s not far off from us PR girls at all! Below are just a few reasons why Olivia Pope, and all of us fab PR girls, will run the world.

She knows to follow her gut.

Following your gut is a key asset in PR. It’s so important to trust yourself because sometimes great opportunities aren’t all they seem to be and the signs are always there if your look closely enough. Instincts are key in such a demanding, people-centric field.

She is persistent.

Giving up is never an option – for Olivia Pope or for us PR girls. If we gave up anytime a pitch went unanswered or were outright told no, we’d never do anything. Perseverance, determination and a whole lot of persistence are important traits to have in PR, in being Olivia Pope and in running to world, Pinky and the Brain style.

She knows the value of hard work.

Poppa Pope didn’t raise no fool. His “You have to be twice as good as them to get half of what they have” sermon rings just as true as for us PR gals. We work twice as hard to get clients than those who work in jobs where clients just fall onto their desk (here’s looking at you, finance), to get press placements and attention for our smaller clients (because we love all our clients the same, budgets be damned!) and we work twice the hours of former collegiate peers who didn’t pick PR (shame on them!). But we do it because we love it and, because we work twice as hard, the rewards are twice as sweet.

She knows her strengths and plays to them.

Knowing your strengths is huge in the professional world. I’m a great listener, I work well under pressure and I’m a skilled multi-tasker. The ability to play to them is even more important.  Be confident about what you do well. If you don’t know what you’re good at, how will anyone else?

She can handle herself in a crisis.

Crises happen. In PR, they’re almost a certainty. We PR girls have to be able to think on our feet, work well under pressure and handle whatever curveballs are thrown at us. It’s part of the job description. Being able to handle ourselves and right the situation when things go bad is definitely a mark of a good leader. No one wants to have someone who’s going to melt down when the going gets tough running the world.

What other PR girl attributes make us good leaders?