Advancing Your Communications Career in MENA: Hear How Regional Leaders Like Lara Sous Made It Happen!

Alice Weightman, Chair of the PRCA MENA People and Culture committee sat down with senior leaders of the communications industry and the committee members of PRCA MENA to share insights from their impressive careers, offering guidance on how to get ahead in the ever-changing communications field.
Today, we’ll hear from Lara Sous, Marketing & PR Manager at Lotus Group, who will share their journey to success and offer some invaluable career advice.

What drove you to forge a career in communications?

From a young age, I have always been captivated by storytelling, whether through reading books or creative advertisements. I knew then and there that that’s where I wanted to be; to a be a part of an industry that allows me to work on well-crafted campaigns, to dive into levels of intrigue beyond my comfort zone and be able to influence and connect with people through powerful narratives.

What do you think are the key qualities needed to succeed in communications and how do you assess these attributes when interviewing prospective candidates?

To succeed in communications, one has to have strong interpersonal skills. The ability to adapt to different situations, different environments, and different cultures. One needs to be an excellent listener, respond precisely and most importantly be patient. Working in comms is one of the toughest jobs one can have due to the many hurdles you may face either with internal comms or with external stakeholders, but if executed candidly, you will be able to connect with people and bounce back from setbacks effortlessly.

To be able to assess these attributes from a candidate during an interview, I like to ask strategic questions and create hypothetical scenarios that will then reveal how the candidate might be able to handle complex situations inspired from their personal experiences.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome during your career? What lessons did you learn from this experience that you believe are valuable for others facing similar obstacles?

Naturally and throughout my career, I have certainly faced many challenges. The toughest and most memorable two from my career were:

1. Managing crisis comms during a global scandal. I’ve had to monitor the sentiment, report back on the nature of the feedback, complaints and news, provide solutions to rectify the sentiment as fast as possible.

2. The second challenge was managing a rebrand during a time when there was a lockdown during the pandemic. The key lesson I’ve learned from that were that rebranding requires consistency and honest communication to meet customer expectations. At the end of the day, your product or service needs to offer a solution to customers during challenging economic and financial times.

How has mentorship and professional networking impacted your personal growth, and what guidance would you offer to junior professionals around this?

While I’ve had many supervisors, I’ve had few mentors who truly shaped my career. Before I elaborate on this, it is important to remind ourselves what a mentor is. A mentor is someone who provides guidance, shares their knowledge and offers their personal and professional insights from their own experiences to their team. My mentors offered me encouragement, guidance through the most challenging times and reminded me to always enjoy the journey and have fun.

My advice to the junior professionals is to engage and surround yourselves with professionals who possess qualities and attributes you would like to see in yourselves. Be proactive, observe and learn from professionals from different backgrounds. Most importantly, do not rush things. Take your time, savour the moments in your life with your friends and colleagues and learn to have fun.

How do you prioritise self-care and wellbeing amidst demanding work schedules, and what advice would you offer to junior professionals on achieving balance in their lives?

When you live in a fast-paced city it may seem difficult to maintain that balance but it is not impossible. As cheesy as it may sound, it is very important to set boundaries. Clock out and leave work at work. Socializing with friends, sharing experiences, travel plans could spark creativity in various areas. Physical and mental fitness is very important, like: Yoga, Running, Hiking, Reading, Listening to Podcasts or even taking up an interest in learning a new skill.

What advice do you have for junior professionals on embracing change in the evolving PR landscape?

The PR landscape is ever-changing and evolving. To be taken seriously, you need to be proactive, especially during critical times. Park the personal on the side, roll your sleeves and get to work. Observe, absorb, and stay knowledgeable or curious about what’s happening. Put your hand up even when no one else is bothered to do the work. This will develop your work ethic, corporate discipline, and mindset to tackle any challenge.

Lastly, what career advice would you give to PR professionals about setting long-term career goals in the MENA region?

The MENA region is vibrant with new cities witnessing a lot of growth. It is an exciting hub despite the challenges; however, my advice for young PR professionals is to:
o Stay culturally attuned and be open to the different viewpoints that will come your way.
o Leverage the unique opportunities and different personalities that will cross paths with you.
o Be confident and don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone.
o Patience and hard work are your core elements to a strong foundation.