Ashli Bobo of Infiniti on the power of cross-mentorship for professional growth

Ashli Bobo, director of communications for Infiniti Americas, oversees public relations, employee communication, and retailer strategies. She’s responsible for all things related to product, brand, and corporate communications in the Americas.

With over 20 years of experience, Bobo has a wealth of knowledge in strategic planning, media relations, content development, and employee communications. She’s worked on various cross-functional teams and even co-founded the Black Employees of Nissan, part of the company’s Business Synergy Teams.

When she’s not at work, the PR pro loves spending time with her daughter and makes it a goal to read one book a month, thanks to the book club she joined earlier this year.

On top of all that, she uses her PR skills and business know-how to help friends who are starting their ventures. “We’re all given a talent and a skill to help and support others,” Bobo shared with Ragan. “I always think, how can I leverage what I know to support my friends and family?”

My first comms profession was: 

The NBC station in Detroit at WDIV where I was an associate producer and writer. I worked on the morning show. I started that job in college and if you work on the morning show that means you have to be to work at 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. I would leave work at 7 a.m. and go straight to class, but it was such an incredible opportunity as a journalism student in my senior year to be able to land a job at the top news station. Also, at that time Detroit was a top 10 market so that was my first communications job that helped to open my eyes to storytelling and what is truly news.

The thing I’m most excited about for the future of my profession is:

How we leverage AI is an untapped space across several disciplines. As communicators, there’s so much to explore with AI, and that excites me. Another important question is how we reach audiences. When I first started my career, the best way to do it was through traditional media, but now we’ve evolved to social media, and it’s time to understand what’s next. As we continue to evolve, I look at my daughter, who is one year old, and consider how she will consume information in 18 or 19 years.

One thing that worries me about the future of my profession is:

Automation. I don’t think you can fully trust technology across the board, I think there needs to be some human influence. When I talk to journos and comms majors now, I tell them to not lose that skill of writing, that is important. That is the value you bring to a job or opportunity. You can’t just rely on an automated system to write it for you. You need to keep that strategic muscle going. As technology evolves, it’s awesome, but it can also create opportunities for people to become lax as well. 

A tool or a piece of software I cannot live without is:

 Excel. For me, especially now at this point in my career when I’m managing budgets, excel is my accountability partner when it comes to numbers. It is also the best tracking tool. If we have a media program and we need to write notes, I can make updates and the team can see it.

One way I stay creative and motivated is:

I talk to other people. I have that type of rapport to stay connected. It could be a text exchange, and sometimes it’s over email. Another way I stay motivated is by reflecting. We move so quickly, especially in communications. I feel like when you finish one thing, you are immediately thinking about what’s next instead of taking a moment to reflect on what I have done and what the team has done as well. When I think about that, it motivates me to see that we accomplished something and that we can do so much more. I also send emails with the subject line often just saying “idea,” and I use that to motivate the team, and they, in turn, motivate me as well.

One piece of advice I would give other people in my profession is:

Mentorship doesn’t only come from people with a higher title than you. I believe in cross-level mentorship. I have learned so much from some people I have worked with directly or indirectly within different organizations or groups who are wicked smart, who have opened my eyes to different perspectives, and who have shared new information with me. Sometimes, when we talk about mentorship, learning, or growth and development, we always look ahead or up to those with higher titles, but I don’t believe it only comes from that direction. It comes from above, from your peers, from the side, and also from those who may not hold a title with “senior” or “executive” in front of it.

Isis Simpson-Mersha is a conference producer/ reporter for Ragan. Follow her on LinkedIn.