International PR Doesn’t Need Tougher People. It Needs Better Design.

International PR has changed. We know, because it’s what we do.

It’s not just about coverage or campaign delivery, and hasn’t been for some time, even if it’s often still treated that way. Today, communications leaders are shaping market entry, advising leadership, managing risk and influencing strategy.

But while the role has evolved, the way many teams are set up hasn’t. And the strain is starting to show.

Burnout, friction and frustration are becoming familiar features of international PR. Not because people aren’t capable or committed, but because the systems around them haven’t kept pace.

Our People, Pressure & Purpose (PPP) research, launched in H2 last year, points to a simple truth: this isn’t a people problem. It’s a design problem.

A role that’s outgrown its operating model

Across our in-depth interviews with some of the most senior international communications leaders in the business, one theme came through clearly. Expectations are rising. Fast. Leaders are being asked to do more, influence more, and move faster. And let’s face it, all too often without the structures or support to match.

Pressure, as across most industries, rears its head in the obvious ways: long hours, constant availability, emotional labour - the endless pings and notifications. But in the comms world, it creeps in quietly in other ways too. In mistrust between your central HQ and local markets. In blurred decision-making. In a lack of visibility that makes it harder to lead with confidence.

The work has changed. The models haven’t.

Across the four operating models we identified in our PPP research - from highly centralised and hub-and-spoke setups, through regional hubs, to more networked approaches - a consistent theme emerged: when design doesn’t evolve, pressure shows up elsewhere.

Where things start to creak

When international PR isn’t working as it should, it’s rarely down to a lack of talent. More often, it’s because the setup makes the job harder than it needs to be.

Decision-making between central teams and local markets is often fuzzy, creating a constant push and pull between control and autonomy. Skills development is acknowledged as important, but squeezed in around already full diaries. It’s on the table, of course, but there’s rarely time carved out for teams to actually sit at it. And sustainability is still framed as personal resilience - ‘learn how to cope better’ - rather than something that’s built into roles, workflows and expectations from the start.

In a nutshell, teams are being asked to operate like strategic leaders using structures designed for a different era. You wouldn’t expect a sports team to win a championship without a game plan, clear roles and time to train - yet some international comms teams are still working with legacy setups that haven’t evolved with the role. Their daily reality is delivering senior counsel while constantly firefighting, learning on the fly and negotiating unclear decision-making. Sound familiar?

What better design looks like in practice

When teams do thrive under pressure, it’s rarely by accident. There are usually a few deliberate choices behind it.

One is clarity over control. Teams are clear about what really needs to stay consistent globally, and where markets have room to flex. That clarity builds trust, and it also speeds things up.

Gina Sheibley, Chief Communications Officer at Workday recently joined us on our Just Curious podcast, and spoke precisely to this point: she explained that the key is to have a clear North Star for the corporate message, while giving teams the flexibility to dial it up or down for their audiences. Gina said: “Messaging discipline and narratives are so critical… everyone should be on the same page with what the corporate message is, but you’ve got to give people the flexibility to turn the dial for your audience and I think you can build that confidence if you’re rigorous.”

Another deliberate choice is capability by design. Skills like data fluency and advisory confidence aren’t left to chance (or to evenings and weekends!). They’re built into roles and everyday ways of working.

And then there are systems that protect performance. High-performing teams don’t rely on heroics to get through the week. (Though they still deserve their superhero capes.) They design around time zones, workload and emotional labour, so performance is sustainable, not fragile.

There’s nothing groundbreaking here. Just a conscious choice to do things differently.

Why this matters now

The cost of NOT redesigning is easy to miss. It rarely shows up all at once to the bellowing sound of trumpets. It creeps in as attrition, slower decisions, missed opportunities and teams running on empty. Over time, that takes its toll.

From our 20+ years experience helping clients design the function in the best way for their unique needs, we see how organisations that get this right tend to feel calmer and clearer. Not because the work is any easier, but because the system supports the work, rather than fighting against it. 

On the surface, this can look like optimisation. In reality, it’s great leadership at work, making deliberate choices about how teams are designed to operate well.

From insight to action

As we brace for expectations on comms functions to continue to rise this year, the last thing comms leaders need is more theory, time-consuming conferences or crowded webinars rammed with slides. What they really need is space - the space to step back, take stock and rethink how their teams are actually working day to day.

2026 feels like the year for practicality. For focused conversations, grounded in real experience, and turned into action. Less sprinting, more sustainable momentum - the kind that helps teams move from coping with pressure to building something that lasts.

You’re invited…

If you want 2026 to be a year of action, not just insight, we’ve created a small number of complimentary, private working sessions (running from 2 hours to a half day) for senior communications leaders. These sessions help you step back, look honestly at how your current operating model is really working, and sense-check whether it still fits what’s now being asked of your team.

Drawing on the four operating models identified in our PPP research and flagged above, we work with you to diagnose:-

- where pressure is building
- what’s helping or holding you back
- what needs to evolve - whether that’s structure, decision-making, capability or ways of working.

Get in touch to explore how you can move from pressure to progress through one of our workshops. 

You can also listen to Sysco’s VP of Communications Matt Stewart and report author Stephen Waddington in conversation with our co-founders George and Nicky about how to design a dynamic and sustainable comms function on our podcast.