From front desk to MD: how strategic thinking and persistence built a PR career

Reaching the role of Managing Director at 34 is not common. The average age of an employed managing director is 44 years old, with most executives putting in decades before reaching senior leadership. But career timelines aren't set in stone. If you approach your work with the right mindset, skills, and commitment, you can accelerate your path to leadership - without cutting corners.

Leadership isn't about luck. It's about long-term, deliberate action. After studying communications and psychology at North West University, what started as answering phones at the front desk has evolved into becoming the newly appointed Managing Director of PR Worx - one of Africa's most awarded PR agencies. After 15 years with the company, I now lead strategic counsel for some of the most complex communications challenges across the continent.

Over the past few years, I have headed up teams managing PR Worx's crisis communications, government relations, and client portfolios for high-net-worth individuals. Our work spans blue-chip companies, automotive and pharmaceutical sectors, technology companies, international food franchise brands, television networks, and legal firms managing complex client communications. We handle product launches, strategic positioning, B2B campaigns, complex digital integration, and build genuine social media networks that add measurable value to our clients' bottom lines. As a 360-degree marketing-communications agency, we understand that effective communications must drive real business results, not just awareness.

Interestingly, international and global brands - particularly Asian companies - consistently choose PR Worx because they recognise our ability to work exceptionally fast whilst maintaining the highest efficiency standards. Our results truly speak for themselves.

The journey from front desk to boardroom taught me lessons that apply to anyone chasing their own leadership goals.

1. Find your passion early and commit to it
   Passion is the foundation of resilience. When you genuinely enjoy what you do, you'll push through challenges others walk away from. Identify your passion early, then make intentional career choices that nurture it into expertise. For me, that passion became crisis communications - the high-stakes moments where strategic thinking makes the difference.
2. Choose the right company and grow with it
   In an age of job-hopping, loyalty is underrated. Joining a reputable company and staying long enough to grow with it can open doors you never imagined. Organizations recognize and reward people who invest in their success. My career began with a commitment to grow where I was planted - and in return, I was given opportunities to expand in scope, responsibility, and influence.
3. Make yourself indispensable through service
   I put my hand up for every task, every client, every event - whether it fell in my job description or not. I immersed myself in account management, press release writing, design, development, client liaison, crisis communications, and strategic planning. This wasn't about "helping out" - it was about becoming a trusted asset who could step in when the stakes were highest.
4. Develop expertise that matters
   While versatility is valuable, specialised expertise sets you apart. For me, it became strategy, crisis communications, and reputation management - high-pressure areas where calm thinking and results matter most. This focus opened doors to work with five presidents and numerous high-profile clients, not because of connections, but because of consistently delivering results when it mattered most.
5. Build relationships through trust
   The network I've developed - from government officials to CEOs - came from years of protecting reputations and solving problems others couldn't. These relationships weren't built through networking events, but through proving reliability in critical moments. Trust, once earned, becomes the foundation for long-term partnerships that drive business growth.
6. Never stop proving your worth
   Awards and recognition are milestones, but they're never the finish line. Every project is an opportunity to demonstrate why you deserve your seat at the table - and more importantly, how you can help others succeed.

What excites me most about this role is leading PR Worx into its next phase of growth whilst building an even stronger team. After years of leading teams across multiple disciplines, I understand that the right employees are as crucial as the right clients. The communications landscape is evolving rapidly, but organisations that understand what drives the heartbeat of human connection will always thrive - no matter how sophisticated technology becomes.

As I often remind younger professionals: careers aren't built overnight; they're built every time you choose to show up and deliver. Leadership at a young age is possible, but it demands patience, loyalty, continuous learning, and the courage to step into challenges that stretch you.

I've reached this position through consistent choice-making over 15 years, leading teams, and delivering results across every aspect of our business. The lesson is simple: success doesn't come from shortcuts, it comes from showing up, standing out, and staying the course.

Looking ahead, the future belongs to communications professionals who understand that behind every brand, every crisis, every opportunity, there are real people with real concerns. Artificial intelligence may change how we execute campaigns, but it will never replace the strategic thinking required to understand what truly drives an organisation's heartbeat. That human insight - combined with data, creativity, and authentic relationship-building - is what will continue to set exceptional agencies apart in an increasingly complex world.

Written by Shannon Henning who is the Managing Director at PR Worx.