We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mariah Obiedzinski a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mariah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I’m fortunate to do meaningful work in my regular career and my consultancy, which is more a passion project than a money-making machine. At Stamats, my team and I help healthcare, higher ed, and B2B professional services teams tell impactful stories and share thought leadership content with a range of audiences, answering their most pressing questions across a variety of media. In my consultancy, I work with up-and-coming authors to bring their first (and sometimes second and third!) stories to life through editing services scaled to fit a growing creative’s budget. Both forms of storytelling are meaningful to me because futures often begin in unplanned moments – reading a story, seeing a video, hearing a clip, getting a chance to publish – and digital is a lasting media that can be encountered or sought out anytime someone has a question to answer.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I knew I wanted to be a writer in fourth grade, when we created stories about life in the 1800s. My teacher told me I did a good job on the story, and my passion was sparked then. Through high school and college, I worked with excellent mentors who pointed out my weak areas and gave me tips to strengthen my craft. After a series of layoffs in the mid-2000s economic downturn, I landed at a healthcare company as a marketing assistant, and I knew I’d found the perfect-fit audience for me.

Working in healthcare content requires a perspective of empathy balanced with authority that isn’t as key in other organizations. After two decades in marketing, I can say that healthcare content is one of the most challenging and rewarding fields to work in – and it is work!

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Provide praise and constructive criticism with the same speed. No one wants to hear six months down the road (at review time) that they’ve not been doing their job right. It’s like TSA says – if you see something, say something. Give constructive feedback with the same level of good intent and enthusiasm with which you give praise. Sparing someone from feedback that will help them grow is the same as sticking them in a corner. Invest your emotional energy into tough conversations that can lead to thriving. Otherwise, you’re doing your team a disservice.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I am not shy about speaking up when I have an opinion. I share other leaders’ content with my own commentary. I apply to speak at conferences with leaders who’ve been around the block and I learn from their stories along the way. By providing continuous, steadfast, high-quality work – and not being sheepish in talking about it – word gets around in the algorithms and circles that you are someone to know. It’s a combination of risk-taking, open-mindedness, and putting oneself out there. No one can stop you but you.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.stamats.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahobie/
• Twitter: @MariahWrites