The Overboarding Trap: Balancing Portfolio Ambition with Boardroom Reality
How many board roles is too many? Susan Blain consulting discusses overboarding and NED branding.
What Australia's best annual reports have in common in 2026
The financial year is ending. The auditors are circling. And somewhere in a busy calendar, the annual report needs to find a home.
Social Media for a New Business: How to Pick a Strategy and Actually Stick to It
Starting out in business needs a cool head when it comes to social media strategy. It can quickly become overwhelming. Here’s some tips …
Work’s Best Kept Secret
The belief that visibility equals vanity is rubbish. That if your work is good enough, it'll be noticed - fantasy!
Why Complex Careers Need Smarter Strategies
Is your current personal brand visibility aligned with where you're heading, not just where you've been?
You've just been appointed to the biggest role of your career. Extraordinary. But is your public presence still heralding your last role?
You've Identified Your High Potentials. Have You Given Them a Brand?
Recognition matters. Reward matters. But the highest-value contribution you can make to your High Potential Employees (HiPos) is investing in what comes next for them.
The Hidden Challenge Facing Non-Executive Directors: Managing Your Board Portfolio Brand in 2026
As executives transition from C-suite roles into portfolio director careers, they're encountering a nuanced challenge that governance institutions are only beginning to address: how do you manage your personal brand when you're no longer anchored to one organisation?
Platform Fluency vs Platform Mastery
Social media may look easy, but do you understand the “why” - find out how professional development credentials help impact …
The Promotion That Went to Someone Else
When your colleague gets promoted before you - you need personal branding help from Susan Blain Consulting.
2026 Internal Communications Content Calendar
Get these 2026 Internal Comms Australian content moments locked into your workplace comms plan to keep strategy on track.
The A to Z of External Engagement: Why Balance Matters More Than Volume
Sustained engagement isn't about doing more. It's about doing what matters, consistently, with clarity.
If you’re still chasing video and carousels on LinkedIn in 2026, you’re late.
What’s changing now isn’t the algorithm. It’s what the algorithm is responding to.
Real stories. Real impact. Connecting Messaging
Susan Blain Consulting recently completed writing, production and design of the 2025 Annual Report for Medicines Australia. One striking image in the report is of Maria, a 39-year-old Brisbane mother living with breast cancer.
Our top three reads for 2025
From navigating digital heat to shaping meaningful engagement, these were the most-read and most-shared blog posts on my website in 2025.
From Onyx Nights to Opalite Skies - How Swift Engagement Transforms Organisations
The real strategic artistry comes when your engagement is tailored, impact-led, and genuinely anticipated by your stakeholders. When connection feels natural but is quietly powered by discipline and design, that’s where transformation lives.
When Symbols Don’t Translate: Communication Across Borders
The symbols in this article and infographic are examples of visuals we often assume everyone understands. Some may surprise you. Clarity isn’t achieved by speaking louder; it’s achieved by designing for understanding.
Our 2025 Guide to Content Marketing
My new 2025 Guide to Content Marketing 👇 outlines the five-step process that keeps strategy, creativity, and consistency aligned.
Speaking Spotlight: International Association of Business Communicators (Canberra) 2025
Engagement POV: Perhaps not all audiences need to be engaged. Are you trying to engage everyone and wondering why it’s not working? Find out why not all stakeholders need to be engaged.
Building resilience by getting better at feeling bad
“You don’t build resilience by feeling good all the time. You build resilience by getting better at feeling bad.”
Are you holding yourself back on LinkedIn?
When I googled my own LinkedIn connections, over 55% had unoptimised profiles. OMG. That’s a lot of people making it harder for themselves - operating in an echo chamber and missing their best chance to be seen. I’m absolutely sure we can improve on that.