➢ Communicators have a steady seat in the boardroom and are taking an active role in crafting corporate policy and voting on pivotal issues.

➢ Generative AI wipes out the busy work and allows communicators time to be strategic, creative and proactive.

➢ The word “strategic” has been scrapped from the term Strategic Communications for its obvious redundancy, and the Chief Communications Officer now reports to the CEO.

➢ DEI and ESG are no longer polarizing labels as the practices of inclusion, diversity and sustainability are as normalized as media relations and community relations.

Is this the future of communications, or is this just a pipe dream? For most communicators, it’s hard to imagine a future in which the scenarios above come to fruition.  

There’s a small cohort, perhaps the ones attending Davos or other economic global forums, who have the seat at the table and the ear of the C-suite. But for most communicators, you are just too busy getting through the day.  

You say you’re too busy. In Ragan’s 2024 Communications Benchmark Report, communicators cite that the top reason they can’t be more strategic is because they are being pulled in too many directions, with tasks and requests that keep them from big-picture strategy. This answer has topped the other choices for the past six years of the Benchmark Report.   

The last several years have been seismic for communicators. As the stakes were raised during the early stages of the pandemic, and amid social justice and geopolitical unrest, communications met the moment. In my three decades in this space, I’ve never seen so much positive movement.  

Communicators were front and center, keeping stakeholders informed, employees safe and connected. They weren’t in the boardroom, per se, but they were (and arguably are today) at the heart of their organization, not missing a beat.  

The risk is real

But the more things changed, the less it stuck. As we look to the near future, we risk a slide back.  

The tremendous influence and authority gained from 2020 to 2023 is at risk of slipping through the many priorities organizations face unless there is a collective awareness that Comms is still taking a back seat to other roles in the organization. Communicators need to come together around the core issues impacting society and their organizations and assume a role they might not have deemed themselves worthy of when they first entered the profession.  

The stage is set to take the lead role on critical issues of the day: AI’s impact on work and society, employee upskilling, brand management and social issues, misinformation management and ensuring a reasonably diverse and inclusive work culture.  

We are not talking side character or cameo roles — comms should be the lead role in this regular series.  To do this, it’s critical that communicators get curious beyond the walls of its own comms department.  

Here are some ways forward: 

Play in the AI sandbox: Dabble in the potential of AI for you and your team and for the larger organization, asking questions that will positively transform business. Play with AI rather than pray that it won’t impact you. Partner with other communicators to create a framework that moves our profession forward.  

Become business fluent: Treat it like learning a new language and commit to diving into the numbers, getting curious about the ecosystem that drives your business and dashboarding KPIs that truly tie comms to business growth. 

Take the lead in upskilling: AI has accelerated the need for most professionals to develop new skills and competencies (upskilling has always been important). In addition to ensuring you and your comms team are learning new skills, you have the chance to be at the table formulating and overseeing a talent revolution. Somebody’s got to do it – why not you? 

Be comfortable in the fog: With the U.S. election and nearly 40 other elections around the globe in 2024, this will undoubtedly be another year of uncertainty and division within your organization and among your customers and other stakeholders. Communicators will need to manage the murkiness and be the voice of reason, stability and truth. 

Stop being so busy: As mentioned earlier, communicators are busy bees. But as you commit to taking the lead on upskilling, AI and strategic business counseling you’ll find that the stage is yours to take the lead. Decide where you need to spend your time or someone else will decide for you. 

This is all to say: Buckle up, communicators, for an exhilarating ride.  

Diane Schwartz is the CEO of Ragan Communications.  

The post Communicators need to shed cameo role for the lead appeared first on PR Daily.

Mary Olson-Menzel is the founder and CEO of MVP Executive Development and co-founder of Spark Insight Coaching.

In the echelons of innovative and transformative leaders, few shine as brilliantly as Steve Jobs. Jobs, and a few others in this rarefied cohort, with their brilliance, their vision of a better future, and a powerful drive to push humanity forward, have etched their names in history.  

At the heart of their revolutionary impact lies what we like to call “3D Leadership”: define reality, declare intention and decide strategy. Let’s dissect how extraordinary minds have embodied this concept and how you, too, can adopt this mindset for innovation and leadership in your own organization. 

What is 3D Leadership?  

Dr. Mark Goulston,psychologist, coach, master negotiator and author of the bestselling book “Just Listen,” designed the concept of 3D Leadership with certain exceptional leaders in mind.I was fortunate enough to be one of his trusted colleagues to collaborate with him in refining what that looked like. Mark passed away recently and it feels like it is my mission to get these principles out into the world. 

Jobs and visionaries like him excelled at defining reality” — not accepting things as they are, but reimagining as they could be, and in their minds should be. They have a unique ability to perceive pathways beyond the present construct and identify opportunities that might be invisible,even inconceivable, to others. They don’t predict the future; they create it.  

How do they mold these visions into tangible objectives? They boldly declare Intention.  Jobs wielded what was termed a “reality distortion field.” His charismatic conviction didn’t just persuade; it inspired and disrupted the norm. He made you believe in the impossible, thereby literally “mobilizing” a collective effort toward his futuristic visions.  

When Jobs witnessed the underutilized potential of the graphical user interface and mouse at Xerox PARC, he didn’t just see tools; he saw the gateway to a new era of personal computing.  

Yet, ideas alone, no matter how compelling, are not enough. As Thomas Edison, another legendary innovator, pointed out: “Vision without execution is hallucination.” Therein comes the third dimension: decide strategy. 

Jobs was known for his meticulous, almost obsessive, approach to realizing his visions. Jobs built a culture of excellence by surrounding himself with uniquely talented individuals like early partner Steve Wozniak, designer Jonny Ive and current Apple CEO Tim Cook.  

Laying the groundwork for 3D Leadership 

Now that we have identified the three stages of 3D Leadership, it’s worth exploring what conditions might precede them. What factors indicate that an individual may be a future 3D leader? According to Goulston, it begins with being a first-class “noticer.” 

Noticers embrace the unknown as an adventure, challenge the status quo and end up changing the world. They’re always in a mental state of exploration, ready to pivot and move on to their “Aha!” moment, while others tend to see the unknown as a danger to be feared and avoided. 

This leads us to what Mark Goulston called the, “Whoa, Wow, Hmm, Yes” sequence, describing the journey from amazement to decision. Observing and considering the GUI and mouse, Jobs may have thought, “Whoa!” (astonishment), “Wow!” (realization of potential), “Hmm…” (how to turn that potential into a reality), and finally, “Yes!” (unwavering resolution to do it). This sequence isn’t just emotional; it’s a powerful cognitive process that transforms observation into purpose and action. 

Putting it into practice 

So, what does this mean for you and me as leaders in our own work? Emulating these giants starts with nurturing our capacity to notice, to be genuinely curious about and perceptive within our environments. It requires courage to see the unknown not as a threat, but as a catalyst for possibilities. From this space, we can learn to trust our “Whoa’”moments, contemplate and flesh out the “Wow” and “Hmm” phases, and then move forward confidently with “Yes.” 

The 3D Leadership model  is more than a formula for greatness; it’s a mindset. Cultivate that mindset, and develop your ability to be strategic, resolute, and even visionary.  By embracing curiosity, “first-class noticing” and the “Whoa, Wow, Hmm, Yes” sequence, you begin to lay the groundwork for innovative thinking and transformative leadership. Like Jobs , you too will start to operate from a place of future-creating, and that makes all the difference. 

What kind of future do you want to envision, design, and create for yourselves this year? Begin by defining your reality, declaring your intention, and then start to design your strategy. I’d love to hear about it. 

The post How to apply ‘3D Leadership’ in your work appeared first on PR Daily.

In fact, the Lominger talent management system, first developed by Robert Eichinger and Michael Lombardo in 1991 based on their work at the Center for Creative Leadership, lists “dealing with ambiguity” as one of the 67 competencies that aspiring leaders can focus on developing through performance reviews, upskilling and more.

Lominger, which was acquired by management consulting firm Korn/Ferry in 2006, is still implemented in organizations across industries and regions. And for communicators looking to prepare the next generation of comms leaders, “dealing with ambiguity” should continue to be prioritized.

Lominger says that those adept at navigating ambiguity are able to effectively cope with change, shift gears with comfort and decide to act even when they don’t have the whole picture.  Employees with this skill demonstrate their leadership by not getting frustrated when a situation is up in the air andby being able to think strategically when communicating about risk even if an issue or crisis hasn’t resolved itself completely.

Does that sound like anyone you know?

Ambiguity is an opportunity to refocus on the big picture

Suffice it to say, any communicator working in a risk-averse industry must sit with ambiguity, and even those in low-drama industries will have to flex the muscle when communicating around a reorg or M&A. Several members of the Ragan community have shared stories about long slogs of uncertainty when their organization is about to be acquired and employees are feeling uneasy. Will there be layoffs? Will there be new leaders to report to?

Waiting is indeed the hardest part. But being direct and simple with your message helps. When in doubt, turn to your organization’s mission.

“It’s always important to keep the organization’s mission front and center,” one comms leader told Ragan anonymously. “Crisis and ambiguity both are major distractions, but whenever you can return to the mission (or simply keep the mission at the center of the messaging), that can be a stabilizing reminder for people who otherwise might be starting to spin off their axis.”

Communicating with simplicity and sensitivity

There have been many revelations gleaned from Ragan’s continued partnership with Microsoft during our annual Internal Communications Conference at the tech giant’s Seattle-based headquarters this past October, but one that keeps coming back springs from the company’s research into the neuroscience of employee sentiment.

Microsoft found that employees were less stressed out about bad news than they were over communications that are uncertain, and that simple language functions with a degree of intellectual sensitivity in uncertain times. “People are less stressed when they hear about bad news than when things are uncertain,” said Microsoft Chief Learning Officer Joe Wittinghill. “That old adage that what leaders do is get bad news out fast? We can show you why that’s actually true now.”

“Communicators are often asked to make bricks without straw, to communicate in the absence of key messages and in ambiguous, undefined, unresolved situations,” another comms leader said. “Simple, clear language is key. Even if the message is just to say, ‘we’ll send another update when we have more information.’

Touchpoints build trust

In such uncertain instances, another comms leader said that their firm takes an unusually candid approach. Honoring transparency as a core value means the CEO and leadership have become very comfortable saying some version of “We are aware of the situation and this is what we know, but we don’t have answers yet.”

“The key for us is a commitment to coming back with information and answers when we do have them,” the comms leader explained, offering one example during a recent M&A when the staff at the company that the leader’s firm was acquiring had many quesitons about everything from benefits and policies to possible layoffs.

“Rather than avoiding the question or making promises, our leadership clearly said ‘We don’t know yet, but we’ll give you a place to ask your questions publicly, and we will commit to answering them all (regardless of how uncomfortable),’” they continued. The firm went even further by opening a forum for employees to ask things anonymously. “Over the course of several months, the leaders diligently answered every single question as soon as they knew the way forward on the issue under inquiry.”

Employees of the acquired firm overwhelmingly said that was that this approach helped build trust. “Because they didn’t feel like leaders were ducking or avoiding,” the comms leader said. “They answered when they knew.”

Consistency is key

Aspiring communications leaders who are able to make the case for such an honest, consistent policy will not only demonstrate their ability to deal with ambiguity, but bolster their employee advocacy strategy in the process.

On the flipside, having answers and withholding them because they seem too negative will only backfire. People will eventually find out, breaking the trust you’ve previously created. Remember, employees would rather have bad news than no news at all.

It’s worth considering how the same strategy of transparency amid uncertain times can be demonstrated when things aren’t as serious or heady.

“Another key has been to apply this method in things that don’t have momentous weight, such as the date for a holiday party or the charity we are going to support this year, so the behavior is always on display – not just when things are big and scary,” the comms leader said.

By messaging stakeholders with simple, clear language at a consistent cadence, communicators are able to cultivate trust that’s ready to deploy in uncertain times. That’s what being a true leader is all about.

Justin Joffe is the editorial director at Ragan Communications. Before joining Ragan, Joffe worked as a freelance journalist and communications writer specializing in the arts and culture, media and technology, PR and ad tech beats. His writing has appeared in several publications including Vulture, Newsweek, Vice, Relix, Flaunt, and many more.

The post Why dealing with ambiguity is a critical comms skill appeared first on PR Daily.

Mary Olson-Menzel is the founder and CEO of MVP Executive Development and co-founder of Spark Insight Coaching.

We’ve been asking our clients lately what three things need to happen for them to finish the year strong. With two months left in 2023, are you thinking about what needs to happen in order for you to feel like this year was a success for you? 

Once you have identified your three things you can back into creating small goals for each week that will help you accomplish your larger goals.  What do you need to do? Who do you need to help you? How will the organization support you in these initiatives? 

As professionals, we continually measure various quantitative and qualitative key performance indicators, but beyond that, what does success look like for you this year? KPIs may be the obvious metric for employers, but how else can we– and should we — measure our success? 

Success means different things to everyone. For some, success may mean reaching a certain level of financial stability or professional achievement. For others, success may mean having a fulfilling personal life or positively impacting the world. Maybe it’s not just one of those things, but a combination of all of them. We know how intertwined professional achievement and personal success can be! 

Ways to define success 

In a LinkedIn article, “Defining Success: What Does Success Mean to You?”,  Nicole Fredricks Jackson lists a number of questions that go above and beyond just looking at a company’s KPIs. They include:  

• What are your values and priorities in life? 
• What do you want to achieve personally and professionally? 
• How do you want to make a positive impact on the world?
• What kind of lifestyle do you want to live? 
• What kind of relationships do you want with your family, friends and community? 

Spend some time with this exercise. Set aside a good hour to think about these questions and write out your answers. Then set it aside for a while and do something else. When you come back later and review what you’ve written, you are likely to have some strong indicators of what it will take to look back on 2023 with pride in your personal success goals.  

Once you’ve gotten clarity on your personal goals, take a look at what you want to achieve in the workplace. How can you be just as intentional about driving results for yourself and your team? Get very clear on what success looks like so you can create a plan to help you achieve it. Remember, you are not alone. Include your teammates and colleagues in this planning, as well. Understand each team member’s motivations and strengths and assign them tasks accordingly to help move forward together.   \

I regularly do this exercise with my coaching clients within the context of their current roles. I’ve asked my own team at MVP to complete it, and I do it myself every year. In addition to helping create your plan and define your intentions for the remainder of the year, it can also become a foundation for your professional success plan in the coming year.  

Here are some additional tips to get you started and help you stay on course: 

• Always start with a vision and a plan.  
• Review your goals from last year and create a measure of what success looks like this year. 
• Curve balls will come your way. Stay flexible and creative.  
• Take calculated risks and learn to pivot quickly. 
• Become a student of your industry and learn from your competitors, too. 
• Focus on great customer service and operational excellence by getting to know your client or audience in a meaningful way. 
• Stay organized and take notes to reflect back on for continuous improvement.  

Consistent check-ins and an openness to recalibrating as needed will help keep the process fluid and moving ahead. With clear intention, deliberate planning, and the right people in place, you can set yourself up to achieve your goals and more.  

The post It’s time to create your end-of-year success plan. Here’s how. appeared first on PR Daily.

It’s said that some people are born leaders. For the rest of us, there’s a lot of hard work and learning that goes into becoming an effective leader of others, regardless of the field we work in. To learn about what helps new comms leaders grow into their elevated roles, we spoke to several seasoned comms leaders about their paths to leadership, the lessons they learned along the way and the advice they have for those following in their footsteps.

Nailing the transition to leadership 

With any significant change in one’s career, there’s bound to be a period of acclimation. One way to maximize that time frame is to adopt an open-minded willingness to learn. According to Dr. Sana Shaikh, Ph.D., a major part of her transition involved learning the lingo of her new leadership role.

“The biggest shift in my going to a mainly leadership role centered on the language used,” she said of her move to academic administration from a mostly teaching-focused role. “Because of this, it’s critical to be very intentional about the words and meaning of what you’re trying to get across to others.”

She added that even when the scope of your role changes, authenticity to who you are as a communicator and person remains paramount.

“When you’re defining your own communication style as a leader, be true to who you are,” Shaikh said. “There’s no universal way to do things — what works for you might not work for someone else. Have a clear strategy and be succinct in what you get across.”

While it’s great and necessary to learn the best tenets of leadership on the job, according to Heather Brinckerhoff, head of brand social media at QVC, the groundwork is best done well before moving into a leadership role. Early in her comms career, she turned to leaders she wanted to emulate and observed how they handled the challenges that came their way.

“When I was at the beginning of my career, I found leaders that I looked to model my own work off of,” Brinckerhoff said. “How did they run meetings? How did they face challenges? How did they celebrate wins with their team? If you start early and emulate a leader you trust and admire, it’ll positively impact your leadership journey going forward.”

Holistic representation and giving yourself grace

In comms, or any field for that matter, the way leaders interact with and represent the individuals in their organization will go a long way in terms of defining the culture and morale of a team or department. According to Samantha Hillstrom, head of internal communications and employee experience at Blue Apron, a new comms leader should look to speak with employees of all levels within the organization to form their perspective and messaging.

“I realized how important this was when it was my turn to step up as a leader — it was my job to represent every level of the company, no matter the message,” Hillstrom said. “We talk about it a lot in comms, but it’s really important for us to be a voice at the decision-making table, and good leaders, and particularly communicators, need to represent everyone.”

A sense of impostor syndrome can creep in for new leaders, but Ali Rubin, co-founder and partner at Velocity Partners, emphasized that new leaders shouldn’t be afraid or anxious if they don’t feel like they’re adapting to their new role right away, as not everything will click overnight.

“Understand that it’ll take time to find your footing,” she said. “Be humble, open, honest, but also confident that you were selected to a leadership role for a reason. Talk to people who have made the journey themselves in the beginning to learn as much as you can about how they did it.”

Empathy is paramount for new leaders 

As communicators, we throw around the phrase “know your audience” until we’re blue in the face. But as a new leader, it’s critical, and doubly so in today’s work environment that often connects people to their leadership virtually. According to Danielle Veira, founder and CEO of Minerva’s Legacy Coaching and Consulting, empathy and understanding should underpin the basis of how a new leader approaches their role.

“As a new leader, I think it behooves you not to create narratives for those on your team, especially when you’re in a situation where you’re communicating mostly remotely,” Veira said. “Provide them space to tell you how you can best support them and manage their projects, but also how you can understand their work styles to help them grow.”

Veira added that if new leaders approach challenges with empathy, they’ll increase their ability to solve problems that arise.

“If you figure out the best ways to communicate with a person, you won’t just motivate them, but you’ll make them feel heard and understood,” she said. “That’ll help you work through almost any issue that arises as a new leader, whether that’s performance or ownership. Being empathetic will help you really connect with someone and create much-needed clarity.”

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports, a good pint and ’90s trivia night.

The post How new comms leaders can maximize their impact appeared first on PR Daily.

Summer in the United States can mean several different things— tickets to a ballgame, trips to the beach (or down the shore, if you’re from the Philadelphia area like this writer is,) or just time away from the daily grind of work to spend with family and friends. But with all these planned activities and vacations, sometimes engagement around the virtual or in-person office might be flagging.

This begs the question — how can you keep employees motivated when the pace of business slows?

That’s where a strong communications department comes in handy. By sharing messages that address both the needs and desires of employees, you can keep motivation up during the dog days of summer, and work to improve retention and overall culture too.

A key time for professional development

Even if summer sees a lull in business, with clients and coworkers taking well-earned vacation time, it doesn’t mean that it can’t be an opportunity for employees to learn something new to upskill their careers.

Dr. Kerry O’Grady, associate professor of public relations and corporate communications and PR consultant, said that these slower periods could be an excellent opportunity for leadership to build in time to invest in their employees.

“Giving employees the freedom to build their skill sets is so empowering,” she said. “It also helps employees know that they’re valued and that their skill set is valuable to the organization.”

Summer can also provide a timely opportunity for communications to reevaluate their channels to reach out about upskilling offerings.   and also provide employees with a moment to voice the areas where they’d like to build their skill sets.

“Summer is a great time to utilize internal comms platforms to facilitate knowledge sharing, team updates, and social interactions,” said Mira Adam, associate director of communications at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business.” Likewise, creating channels for employees to communicate their ideas and actively listen to their concerns can help contribute positively to engagement,”

Tips for the slow times

If things slow down a bit during the summer at your organization, use it as an opportunity to reassess the challenges you’re up against as a communications department. It can also be a good time for ideation around solutions to those issues.

“Using these kinds of times to organize and work through challenges that have presented themselves in other parts of the year can be really helpful to your overall strategy,” O’Grady said. “By really drilling down and understanding what the root problems might be in our communications, we can work to make things better for the whole organization.”

O’Grady added that times like the summer are also an ideal opportunity to increase collaboration with other departments within the organization to get a feel for how they operate and how communications can help. This can in turn foster understanding between employees for an increased sense of camaraderie and better morale.

“Talk with other parts of the organization,” she said. “Taking the time to sit with people who might work in marketing or finance to get a better sense of how the entire system functions is a great way to spend slower times that might arise.”

Positive reinforcement

Let’s face it, comms people are generally a busy bunch. But slower times of the year also provide an opportunity to present accolades and praise to employees which go a long way toward fostering a positive culture.

Rachael Matthews, vice president of corporate communications at Group 1001, said that even seemingly small recognition can be a huge step towards positive culture building.

“Sometimes we can be so heads down in our work and we might wonder if what we’re doing is even making a difference,” Matthews said. “But even if it’s a small shout-out from the CEO or other recognition from leadership, these gestures can reinforce just how important employees are to the entire operation.”

Simple actions like asking how an employee is doing over lunch or creating space for them to share their desires for their future careers can fit in really well during a summer schedule and help foster good morale.

“Leaders should take this time to say thank you and make their employees feel valued and appreciated, “O’Grady said.. “It’s so important for leaders to spend any potential downtime on the people who do the daily work to foster future growth — now is the time to make people feel indispensable and part of something larger.”

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports, a good pint and ’90s trivia night.

The post Keeping employees engaged and business moving during summer appeared first on PR Daily.

Mary Olson-Menzel is the founder and CEO of MVP Executive Development and co-founder of Spark Insight Coaching.

In my daily conversations with executives, I hear about their challenges as they confront a rapidly shifting landscape while managing their most important resource: people. Without people, widgets don’t get made, services don’t get delivered and businesses do not run.

Retaining top talent is critical as companies and leaders work through how to achieve commercial goals for the year ahead and beyond. In fact, one result of the tight U.S. labor market is that employees have demanded more empathetic leadership and are getting it. I see in my own coaching work a notable uptick in requests to work on developing more humane leaders and helping them to create workplace cultures that are better at listening and responding to their people.

When leading, it’s important to understand what makes them tick. One size does not fit all when it comes to the individuals who make up your organization. Thus, we must invest the time and attention to develop a deeper understanding of what our employees need most — not only to do their jobs well, but to thrive and to drive the business forward.

So far this year, three people-related themes have emerged as preoccupations among my corporate clients: the ongoing need for flexibility, reimagining meetings and building more tangible corporate cultures. Here are some suggestions for how to tackle these challenges in your own organizations.

Flex first

 Many employees have proven that they can be equally if not more productive working from home. Yet, at the same time, they miss the day-to-day interactions and camaraderie developed when working alongside one another in the same location. As a result, more and more of our clients have designed hybrid work weeks so that employees can enjoy the best of both worlds.

However, to make a hybrid schedule operate seamlessly, parameters and clear expectations need to be set in advance. Best practices from my experience as an executive recruiter, coach and operational consultant include:

• Involve employees in hybrid work model development so they have a stake in the outcome and are invested in the success of the group as a whole.
• Understand that some employees have roles that require them to work onsite. Make sure that the new rules consider their situation and are equitable.
• Accept that hybrid work requires more coordination and set clear communication parameters for both management and staff.
• Provide technology and tech support that helps employees perform efficiently and effectively from wherever they are working.

Meeting mania

The second recurring theme is meetings — their frequency, structure, and length. “Too many meetings!” We hear this every day, even among the best-performing hybrid teams. Post-pandemic Zoom marathons are the norm now and there’s no time left to address actual deliverables.

In a recent study conducted at Microsoft, researchers confirmed exactly what we are talking about: Back-to-back virtual meetings are stressful, and long-term detrimental to brain health. The findings also support our simple remedy: take short breaks. “Our research shows breaks are important, not just to make us less exhausted by the end of the day, but to actually improve our ability to focus and engage while in those meetings,” says Michael Bohan, senior director of Microsoft’s Human Factors Engineering group, who oversaw the project.

So, how do you keep others engaged when you might be catching them preoccupied or at the end of their work day? Step one is to know your audience. As you review your calendar, ask yourself who you are meeting with, what their priorities are, and how they best receive and process information. Second, get creative about the structure and length of your meetings. Do you really need to have a 30-minute meeting or will 15 suffice? Have you tried having a standing meeting? They tend to wrap quickly and keep everyone more focused. Meeting agendas, talking points, and templates also help to facilitate and move the conversation along to a productive outcome.

Cultivate culture

Organizational culture is the shared values, beliefs, and practices of an organization. It’s how members of an organization view their work, their colleagues, and themselves. A sense of community and the feeling of belonging are vital in the workplace. Culture is what motivates your people to come to work (to an office or via a screen) and it’s why people will stay at an organization.

Is your internal employee brand as strong as your external brand? Are you, your executives, and your staff living in the core values of the organization? A simple cultural assessment can really shed light on this question.

Culture is ever-changing and shifting and we want to make sure we are creating a culture of acceptance, equality, and performance in order to shift as the workforce needs are shifting.  What was considered a great culture in 1990 might not be considered a great culture now.  Therefore, we must constantly strive to create a culture of excellence in whatever business we are in.

A suggested group exercise with a few questions that my colleague, Mel Shahbazian, and I ask when creating a leadership signature and creating a culture of excellence starts with alignment of the following:

What is your North Star: Think of this as your top leadership declaration. What is the essence of who you are as a leader and as an organization?

What is your Mission: Your mission should be big-picture, long-term and meaningful. Something that people can imagine and hold on to.

What is your Goal: This is more benchmark oriented, less about values, and more about the bottom line. Actionable and trackable.

What is your Values Proposition: Prioritize the top values that you hold dearest in your role and on your team. What lights you up?

What is your Promise: What is the promise you offer to your employees and your clients/customers?

What is your Mantra: What do you say to yourself and your team every day to ensure that your culture and your words are inspiring?

According to Simon Sinek: “A culture is not invented. A culture constantly evolves … which is why it must be nurtured.”

Nurturing a culture is not only from the top down, it can be driven also from all levels of the organization. Learning from one another and taking best practices from top-performing employees can be helpful in creating a winning culture.

The post Steps to creating ongoing workplace success appeared first on PR Daily.

To all my communicators out there – please stop me if you have heard this one before – “we would like our CEO to do more, but they just don’t value PR and communications.”

This way of thinking – by both the communicator and their executive – creates a roadblock and makes it difficult to take advantage and participate in top-tier media interviews, speak at major conferences, build employee morale at town halls or create a strong corporate narrative.

When looking to dive deeper on how to get executives to buy into the importance of consistent communications, I reached out to Greg Jenkins, who previously served as the deputy assistant to President George W. Bush.

Since serving in the White House, Jenkins has worked for large communications firms, led communications for Alibaba and now serves as the principal of North Bay Strategies, where he focuses on executive coaching and helping big brands like Visa, Nike, Uber and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Why consistent communication matters from the top

Very few executives fully grasp the true value of effective communications. More experienced CEOs view communications simply as the “cost of doing business,” as Jenkins puts it. On the flip side, many younger founders and CEOs see it as a way to elevate their personal brand – not necessarily just their company’s mission.

As someone who has worked on White House messaging, Jenkins claims that no one values communications more than the president of the United States.

When Jenkins shares that, he often receives pushback from his clients who tell him, “but the President doesn’t have to promote products or speak on behalf of a company.”

While it’s true that there is a difference between the president of the United States and a corporate CEO, the president’s communications strategy does impact how each American describes their country. If the messaging is inconsistent and there is division among country leaders, both national pride and the country’s perception globally is damaged.

In the same vein, inconsistent corporate messaging does have a negative impact on your company’s internal culture and external appeal.

“Consistent communication throughout the entire organization is critical. It is why clients keep coming back and it also plays a big role in recruiting and retaining talent,” Jenkins said.

“Whether you like it or not, every employee is a brand ambassador. While you have a set number of people who are allowed to speak to media, everyone is going to talk about where they work, what they do and what their company is all about,” Jenkins added. “Without consistent communications, what will they say?

Your first step to creating a consistent communication plan

Once your executive understands the value of consistent communications, the initial reaction is usually to do more – more media interviews, more conference keynotes or more town halls. But Jenkins recommends that the first step should be determining what to say and how it can help the company.

“To get started, the most useful thing to pitch [to your executive] is narrative development – not media training,” Jenkins said. “To get them on board, I would tell them; ‘our executive communications are pretty good, but it can be even better. Currently, our leaders are doing their communications in silos. We can let it go, and keep it as it is, or we can come together and speak in one coordinated message to the market.’”

When developing a new corporate narrative, Jenkins starts and ends with the CEO. In between, he interviews the leadership team and other key stakeholders. By taking this approach, he finds that it further commits executives to the narrative and it ‘exposes daylight’ where the leadership team is communicating inconsistently.

Once you have aligned on a consistent, repeatable narrative, then it is a good time to get that media training. And one of the first steps in that training, which gets additional buy-in from executives, is sharing examples of the best communicators – ones like Steve Jobs, Howard Schultz or Bob Iger. But Jenkins also shows less obvious examples like Charles Schwab.

“When I show the less obvious examples, I will be told that this isn’t a narrative or a good story,” Jenkins said. “However, when I breakdown the components of the story, the process that underlies it, why it is a good story and why it matters – it clicks.”

And once “it clicks” – both in understanding the value and how to tell the corporative narrative – your executive would be much more prepared. Now, is the time to do more.

Adam Kiefaber is a global communications director at FIS, a Fortune 500 company focused on creating innovative technology for merchant, banking and investment clients. Previously, he spent nearly 10 years in journalism working for The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Cincinnati Post and CNN. Follow him on LinkedIn.

The post How to create consistent executive communications appeared first on PR Daily.

Being a manager isn’t always the easiest. Not only do you take directives from the top of the organization, but you also need to be able to communicate those ideas and tasks to your reports in a style that resonates with your team and still makes sense in the grand scheme of the company mission. Much of a manager’s job is getting the right message across. That said, there are a few key approaches to keep in mind when you’re considering the strategies behind the way you communicate in the new year.

Constructive and open communication is critical

When you’re managing a group of employees, it’s particularly important to be aware not just of what you say, but also of how you say it. Whether you’re in times of change or business as usual, your reports will continue to rely on you for guidance on projects and general information about how the company is doing. A manager with good communication skills will provide positive, constructive feedback to employees while also keeping them informed as to the goings-on at the organization.

In addition, this air of positivity should inform your open style of communication with reports. Be sure to inform your reports of your open communication policy and define the parameters of what that means (when you’re available, at least). If you make time to listen to the concerns of your reports, you have valuable data about employee experience that you can share with company higher-ups and work to foster real, lasting change in your organization.

Be honest

In your primary school days, you probably heard the phrase “honesty is the best policy”. Simplistic as it might seem, this is extremely important when conveying information to others. There are few basic rules you can follow to ensure that you’re always putting the truth first.

To start with, if you don’t know the answer to a question one of your reports asks, just say that! Don’t speculate or spin a yarn; if you don’t know, it’s alright to say so. Just say that you’ll do your due diligence and report back. If you start giving information without having the whole story in place first, you stand the risk of sharing untrue or incomplete information, and that serves no one’s best interests.

Additionally, be sure to deliver sensitive information in both a timely and compassionate matter. Whether it’s talk of a pay freeze or less-than-ideal feedback on a project, a great manager will choose their words and how they’re delivered with care, as there’s not a one-size-fits-all situation in manager communications.

Actively listen — and adjust your approach accordingly

There’s been much talk over the last few years about the value of active listening when it comes to workplace communication, and for good reason.

If you want to know what your reports are up to at work or how they’re feeling in the role, you need to listen to them. But this practice takes on extra importance as a manager since you’re taking information from both the c-suite and your reports.

When taking direction from those who are running the show, be sure to focus on how your team’s accomplishments speak to the larger mission of the company. This requires you to be attentive and listen to the experiences and the needs of the people who report to you on your team.

Do you need to adjust a meeting schedule to accommodate a team member? Are the processes you have in place to be in touch with your team accomplishing what they need to? If you’re not sure, just ask! Your reports are a valuable source of information that can help you become much better at communicating about your role.

With the new year on the horizon, it’s the perfect time to take stock of how we can do better in our jobs in the new year. For all you managers out there, let’s make 2023 a time to improve at how we can communicate about the work we’re doing to our coworkers — no matter how big or small the team is.

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports, a good pint and ’90s trivia night.

The post How to refine your manager communications appeared first on PR Daily.

The past few years have had our heads spinning in so many ways. Now, despite a labor market where demand still outpaces supply, continued inflation is stoking fears that a recession may be coming. And most of us know that negative economic growth often leads to hiring freezes or layoffs.

Some leaders that we work with are revisiting 2023 plans to reexamine whether new headcounts are critical, whether significant capital expenditures can be delayed and if contracts can be renegotiated. Overall, they are proceeding with caution and feeling the pressure to deliver — or over-deliver — on key KPIs, while keeping their teams focused and optimistic.

But not all of the news is doom and gloom. “We’re still seeing hiring; we’re still seeing growth,” Insight Global CEO Bert Bean said in a recent Forbes article.

Bean continues to say that, “During a recession, all the nonsense gets stripped away. This is as true in our personal lives as it is at work. Recessions give you a great excuse to focus on the things that really matter.”

We have been through this with the pandemic and we are more resourceful and resilient than ever. This is true, especially for communicators who have been on the front lines ever since.

Regardless of what’s ahead, as the past few years have taught us, we still must prepare for anything that comes our way. So, how can you best navigate what’s ahead to ensure that you are doing all you can for yourself, your teams and your organization?

I believe that we can still keep our eye on cultivating great work, proactively protecting ourselves and our roles in the organization, and keeping our teams motivated along with doing what we need to prepare and be ready for anything with these simple steps.

Protect your role and your team:

• Ramp up cross-functional communication and collaboration to demonstrate that you are driving efficiency and organizational effectiveness.
• If you notice your boss is stressed, ask how you can help them. You’d be surprised how much it matters when direct reports raise their hand to do more and offer to help ease pain points that arise.
• Create opportunities for growth and development within your teams (coaching, learning, training — there are many ways to do this without using too much of your budget)- It will keep them positive and engaged while also helping to retain your talent.
• Get creative and look for ways to drive alternative revenue streams — or savings and efficiencies — for the organization.
• Make sure your team’s 2023 goals and priorities are fully aligned with the CEO and the board’s so there’s no doubt your efforts are supporting the business and contributing to the company’s financial goals.

Protect yourself, just in case:

• Make sure your resume and LinkedIn profile are up to date.
• Tend to your network — keep it robust and meaningful.
• Look for thought leadership opportunities on LinkedIn — share your insights on events and news related to your area of expertise, write an article on a timely topic; and, become a more active participant in relevant conversations going on there.
• Look for additional opportunities to be seen as an expert by speaking on panels, offering to moderate at industry events or even creating a podcast.
• Think strategically about if and where you would like to work next by creating a target list that I call the 3 Ps: The Prospects, Pivots, and Passions.

Here’s a video to help you navigate this.

Most of all, stay positive and future-focused. All of the above are good practices for you, whether the economy is soaring or sputtering. Putting in a little extra effort now to keep your skills fresh and your name in front of people is always worth it and can mean the difference between feeling confident or fearful about what’s ahead.

As Bert Bean observed, recessions “give us the chance to learn how to patiently wait on the right outcomes. We learn a lot about ourselves in the process.”

You got this.

Mary Olson-Menzel is the founder and CEO and Founder of MVP Executive Development and co-founder of Spark Insight Coaching.

The post How to lead your team through a recession appeared first on PR Daily.

Ragan’s Communications Week 2022, held Nov. 1-7, was overflowing with takeaways to inform the communicator’s 2023 playbook. Peer-to-peer conversations were abundant during this important industry week, which included the Future of Communications Conference in NYC.

CommsWeek Co-Chairs Diane Schwartz, CEO of Ragan, and Tiffany Guarnaccia, CEO of Kite Hill PR and founder of CommsWeek, share their top gleanings from the week:

Diane Schwartz, CEO, Ragan Communications

Guarnaccia: Congratulations to Ragan on a fantastic Communications Week. One of the big takeaways from me was the power of storytelling. Now more than ever, the best communicators are storytellers. Some of the sessions touched on how to make sure your story is worth telling internally and externally. The world’s best communicators know that employees are our number-one brand advocates. We need to engage them.

Schwartz: So true. And it should go without saying, but I’m saying it: transparency with employees is critical. We heard from so many speakers that employees can handle bad news better than uncertainty. Communicate early and often, and when it comes to storytelling – don’t be boring!  A popular tweet during Communications Week was that storytelling is data with a soul. I love that. Tiffany, what else struck you during the Future of Comms Conference?

Guarnaccia: Measurement is an evergreen topic that emerged again at Communications Week 2022. We are constantly evaluating new strategies and emerging communications channels and the new measurement techniques. When thinking about the value of PR, many communicators are rethinking what that means. Some agency leaders, like the president of MikeWorldWide, Bret Werner, pointed out that we need to rethink top tier. Traditionally, when you think of top tier, you think of outlets like the WSJ, CNN or NY Times. Today, a placement on a key blog or a mention on TikTok could attract the right audiences and drive results, especially for consumer brands.

Schwartz: Back to internal communications for a second, I find this stat from one of our sponsors Staffbase rather illuminating: 75% of internal communicators spend the majority of their time “getting stuff out” – this underscores how communicators must move from order taker to strategist. They need to Meet the Moment – the theme of this year’s CommsWeek – and make sure they’re spending more time on strategy beyond their own department.

Guarnaccia: So true, Diane. They need to be more fluent in the business. This is an area Ragan promotes heavily to its audience.

Schwartz: Yes, business fluency is one of the most important competencies of comms leaders – understanding how your company operates, what drives the top and bottom lines. You can take small steps like spending time with your CFO and asking questions that might take you out of your comfort zone but will put you on the right footing as a business partner.

Tiffany Guarnaccia, CEO, Kite Hill PR

Guarnaccia:: CommsTech was another hot topic and it will grow in importance. I touched on this in my session. We addressed the new comms tech stack and the importance of embracing agility. We need to be agile in theory and in practice. Successful comms programs require a high degree of agility and ability to pivot quickly based on the news cycle or in response to a crisis. At Kite Hill PR we leverage a workflow that models agile development. It was interesting to see that some attendees are taking a similar approach and adding project management software platforms to their own comms tech stack.

Schwartz: I enjoyed moderating a session with Chief Communications Officers from Dow Jones (Jennifer Thurman), US Chamber of Commerce (Michelle Russo) and Columbia Business School (Amy Jaick). Amy pointed out something I think all communicators should keep in mind, which is that some of the best comms strategies are invisible. The absence of crisis and chaos, the story that didn’t run, the CEO that didn’t have to take the hot seat — these are to the credit of savvy communicators.

Guarnaccia: I completely agree with that statement. Investing in a continual human-powered effort to build trust and maintain and enhance a corporate reputation is critical to a business’s long-term success.

Schwartz: During Communications Week, there were a lot of ideas shared and curiosity around the role of Comms in ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) efforts. I thought Catherine Blades Hernandez of SAIC said it best during the fireside chat when she said ‘ESG is a way to show your trust is earned.’”

Guarnaccia: No better role in an organization than Communications to lead the way.

Schwartz: That’s a great way to cap off this conversation, Tiffany!

Mark your calendars for Communications Week 2023 the week of Nov. 6-10. Go to www.commsweek.com for early updates.

The post Storytelling, business fluency, employee comms among top lessons of CommsWeek 2022 appeared first on PR Daily.

The communications function is at an inflection point, as an endless deluge of social and political issues along with increasing employee comms concerns have illuminated the value of communications to the C-suite.

With that in mind, Ragan Communications partnered with research consultancy HarrisX in the fall of 2022 to understand how CEOs and communications leaders view each other’s roles and responsibilities, what they value most, and when they believe responses to public policy issues are necessary.

The survey was conducted by Ragan and HarrisX from Oct. 11-24 within the U.S. among 360 CEOs and other high-ranking senior communicators.

Asked where comms adds the most value, CEOs ranked “executive communication” at the top (14%), underscoring how crucial communicators are to helping them shape and refine their voice.

While CEOs ranked ‘employee communications’ as the second-most valuable function (9%), other comms leaders considered it the most valuable function (13%), which emphasizes the increased role that communicators play in employee engagement.

CEOs also considered investor relations (8%) and ESG (6%) as valuable communications functions, though they didn’t even crack other communications leaders’ top five.

Download the HarrisX-Ragan Key Findings Report here.

The post Here’s where CEOs see comms adding the most value appeared first on PR Daily.

This summer, my colleague, Mel, and I had the pleasure of spending time in Miami with communications leaders from across the country. Once again, we were struck by how these leaders have been thrust into the spotlight in the past few years due to reasons such as the COVID pandemic, social justice issues and the war in Ukraine, to name a few.

One of our key takeaways was that there are now abundant opportunities for communications executives to be out front with a deeper sphere of influence. For some, these prospects are exciting and for others, who are more comfortable working behind the scenes to help others shine, they can be daunting. Either way, your seat at the table is well-deserved and there are ways to embrace greater visibility and influence while still being authentic to your leadership style.

Helping others help you

Leaning into a leadership role comes with unforeseen opportunities and challenges, including bandwidth, budget and staffing. Doing “more with less” has become the mantra of corporate America. Therefore, we encourage you to look over the fence and take advantage of cross-functional collaboration in order to get the most out of the organization’s resources while creating space for you to grow.

The most natural partners for communications departments are often marketing (from an external communications perspective) and human resources (from an internal one). Forging deeper partnerships with these groups will be helpful in connecting the messaging around corporate purpose and mission with the practical execution of go-to-market strategies. The added perspective and insights from these fellow stakeholders adds more texture to the resulting messaging, content, and brand experiences, and deliver richer emotional connections and deeper understanding to a broader range of audiences. It takes a more coordinated effort on all parts, but it’s worth it to make the magic happen.

To summarize, cross-functional collaboration helps to:

• Create a sense of shared purpose, responsibility, and empathy
• Facilitate innovation and knowledge-sharing
• Increase team productivity and performance
• Share the spotlight so that everyone’s contributions are recognized

So how do you make this happen? Meeting regularly with your departmental peers must be a priority. By establishing a meeting cadence and committing together to a plan of action, the organization’s goals will be met and everybody wins.

Other ways to operationalize collaboration include breaking down silos with empathy-building exercises. What does it mean to walk a day in the shoes of marketing or HR? Hold “no bad ideas” brainstorming meetings every quarter to foster new ideas that drive collaboration and reinforce a shared sense of purpose. Align your objectives and key results (OKRs) with leadership and make sure every team member knows what they are. Keep them posted on your achievements and measurable progress — this can be done in whatever way you choose that makes sense for your organizational culture. It helps to do this on a regular basis in order to keep the lines of communication open and make sure everyone is on the same page at all times.

One example from our client, a fast-paced tech company in the Midwest, that is doing it well:

They have very aggressive initiatives set by the CEO and things tend to change direction at lightning speed. The deliverables are ambitious and exciting and sometimes even a bit overwhelming.

There is a lot to be done by this group of exceptionally talented communicators, creatives and marketers. It is only through open communication and effective collaboration that they are able to meet the demands put on them on a daily basis. We meet with them regularly to make sure that their leadership is aligned and there is shared awareness of the vision. We have created templates for conversation design with other departments. This requires both time and effort, but they know if they are not aligned, there is potential for things to get off kilter quite quickly.

They understand that it’s not only important to collaborate with each other but also to understand the importance of regularly bringing in sales, HR and IT to help them. In fact, the last time we were with them at their HQ, we had the chance to meet the head of sales when she came into one of our leadership sessions. She sat with us and the whole department for the afternoon in order to understand the specific initiatives and goals that they had going on at the time.

This client realizes the value in having other departments to help lift you up and support you as peers and colleagues. They know that it is only together that they can achieve greater goals and climb the mountain.

It’s not always easy to stay in alignment with all of the moving pieces and different personalities, but they are committed to their goals — and to each other. They are constantly striving to make each other better and to reach higher than they ever imagined was possible.  The deep care that they have for one another and for the company mission is palpable when you walk through the halls of their offices.

Together, you can achieve more and go farther than you ever thought possible. When you see the results of authentic collaboration done right, you will realize, it’s worth the effort and the time!

Mary Olson-Menzel is the founder and CEO of MVP Executive Development and co-founder of Spark Insight Coaching. 

The post How to break silos and help others help you appeared first on PR Daily.

One of the hardest parts of business communications is getting more attention as layoffs increase amid an uncertain, seesawing economy. And these communications are no longer the internal affairs they once were. They’re almost certain to be leaked, scrutinized and considered by both your existing staff, job seekers and even potential customers and clients.

The cost of a misstep is high, both in terms of the human cost and the business cost.

Let’s examine some recent layoff statements and learn what we can from the best and the rest.

Robinhood

Robinhood’s CEO and co-founder, Vlad Tenev, took a more employee-focused approach and wrote a blog post explaining the specific departments the layoffs would affect and taking personal responsibility for the over-hiring that led to this moment:

I want to acknowledge how unsettling these types of changes are. We often talk about our mission to democratize finance for all, and one of the most cherished aspects of Robinhood is the teamwork and camaraderie involved in working towards our mission — together. I feel incredibly privileged and fortunate to have the opportunity to build with all of you.

Last year, we staffed many of our operations functions under the assumption that the heightened retail engagement we had been seeing with the stock and crypto markets in the COVID era would persist into 2022. In this new environment, we are operating with more staffing than appropriate. As CEO, I approved and took responsibility for our ambitious staffing trajectory – this is on me.

He also explained the resources that employees would be offered to laid-off workers:

Everyone will receive an email and a Slack message with your status – with resources and support if you are leaving. We’re sending everyone a message immediately after this meeting so you don’t have to wait for clarity. Departing Robinhoodies will be offered the opportunity to remain employed with Robinhood through October 1, 2022 and receive their regular pay and benefits (including equity vesting). They will also be offered cash severance, payment of COBRA medical, dental and vision insurance premiums and job search assistance (including an opt in Robinhood Alumni Talent Directory).

Each impacted Hoodie will be able to schedule time with our people team to discuss their specific situation live. We know that this news is tough for all Robinhoodies, and we are also offering wellness support to those who would like it.

Tenev’s blog post leads with an empathetic expression that reframes a dark chapter in the company’s history as an opportunity to reinforce its culture, values and mission. Tenev’s sense of personal responsibility for the poor decision to over-hire adds a seldom-seen degree of accountability to the message that demonstrates those values.

By going deeper into the logic behind how employees were informed, Tenev also offers a rare insight into how change communications can be shared with wellness front and center that’s worth emulating.

‘The crying CEO’

You’d probably never heard of HyperSocial or its CEO, Braden Wallake, until recently. You still may not know his name. You may instead know him as “the crying CEO” after he posted an emotional selfie to LinkedIn along with a post announcing layoffs.

Wallake tried to react in a human way and took responsibility for this unfortunate outcome — good rules of thumb for any CEO. However, he made the post entirely about him and his feelings, and how the loss of jobs affected him.

Now, to be fair, this is not a traditional job layoff memo. It’s a personal LinkedIn post. Even so, it strikes a discordant note that centers the CEO and relegates those who were laid off to background characters in his own drama. If you’re writing your own reaction to a layoff, but you still have a job, remember that it isn’t about you. Keep the focus on those who are affected.

Wayfair

The layoff letter from the online furniture retailer stands in stark contrast to the previous post from HyperSocial. CEO and Co-founder Niraj Shah’s letter takes responsibility without making it about him and his feelings.

I take responsibility for the impact this decision will have on the nearly 900 Wayfairians who will be told today they are no longer a part of building our company’s future. The individuals being impacted have not only made tremendous contributions to the company as colleagues but have enriched us all as our partners and friends. We’re grateful to have worked alongside them, and we will strongly support our colleagues in their next endeavors.

The memo also clearly lays out who will be affected and exactly what the process will be for those who are being let go, including specific severance details, as well as information about next steps for those who will remain at the company. All of this can help reduce anxiety during the waiting process.

The act of posting the letter on their website in full is also a strong act of transparency. If it’s going to leak anyway, get ahead of it and share your messaging.

Ford

The automaker announced this week that it would lay off about 3,000 people, mostly white-collar workers. Internally, the move was announced in a memo that promptly leaked.

The memo begins by nodding to the brand’s history, dating back to the Model-T before acknowledging that what has guided them in the past no longer delivers needed results.

We committed to sharing information as decisions are made along the way. As we tackle all aspects of costs – from materials to those related to quality – we are informing some Ford teammates this week in the U.S., Canada and at FBS in India, that their positions are being eliminated. Overall, we are reducing our salaried workforce by about 2,000, as well as reducing agency personnel by about 1,000. These actions follow significant restructuring in Ford operations outside of North America over the past couple of years.

The memo succeeds because of its clarity: It explains why costs are being cut, how they’re being cut beyond personnel, and exactly who it will affect.

It also doesn’t lose sight of the human cost, while also explaining how the organization will support those who will no longer have jobs:

None of this changes the fact that this is a difficult and emotional time. The people leaving the company this week are friends and coworkers and we want to thank them for all they have contributed to Ford. We have a duty to care for and support those affected – and we will live up to this duty – providing not only benefits but significant help to find new career opportunities.

It’s a solid mix of business-focused pragmatism and human-centric compassion, which are the most important keys in any layoff communication. Outline action, mourn what’s lost and look to the future.

The post Layoff communications: The good, the bad and the ugly appeared first on PR Daily.

While authenticity is commonly discussed in the communications profession, most companies have yet to realize the profound impact authentic leadership, corporate transparency and “real” branding can have on their teams and businesses.

At its core, authenticity is the promise of being true to oneself, communicating openly and stripping down layers to build strong, trusting foundations with those around you. It means accountability, allowing space for vulnerability, and encouraging open and honest conversations that permit feedback and progress. When channeled appropriately, authenticity can have immense impact on company operations, team morale, productivity, customer satisfaction, sales, company growth and more. It also fosters psychological safety, empowering people to operate at their optimum levels with enjoyment and increased productivity.

The premise of being true to oneself starts with an individual. From there, progress can be made toward a transparent environment — one that supports radical candor and building a real, sustainable brand. Here are four ways to channel authenticity for organizational (and personal) growth.

Personal authenticity

Regardless of the organization or setting, personal authenticity -– one’s individual why, how and what — leads to increased self-awareness. Having a deep understanding of your strengths, aka, superpowers and passion points can lead you to inspiring work and career fulfillment. Yes, career fulfilment exists and it’s marvelous.

People do their best work when they are genuinely interested in the role, their goals, and when tasks align with their mission, vision and abilities. When we get to channel our unique superpowers and do work that matters, we create momentum. The outcome not only supports the individual but enhances the entire organization.

People with heightened self-awareness are also known to be better leaders, which brings us to the next pillar: authentic leadership.

Authentic leadership

Managers often underestimate the importance of leading with their hearts AND their minds. Sadly, many managers attempt to command respect by putting on façade to intimidate and control their direct reports and those around them, rather than showing vulnerability and creating trust. Vulnerability is a strength and the ability to show up in a real, genuine way, fosters an environment where challenges are solved, tough conversations take place, and solutions are found versus frustration. And isn’t there more beauty, success and fulfillment when one can inspire greatness over demanding it?

Authentic leaders also put organizational goals ahead of their self-interest or ego and admit when they don’t have an answer. This creates organizational accountability, helping propel the company to the next level.

Transparent culture

Organizational transparency fosters collaboration and alignment. In a transparent environment, people understand the why, the vision, company goals and ways their role and unique abilities play into the bigger picture. Employees are also able to have direct conversations, providing genuine feedback without the fear of repercussion. Clear expectations are set, and challenges are discussed openly.

It’s important to note that a transparent culture starts with vulnerable and authentic leaders. You can’t ask people to be genuine and vulnerable if the management team doesn’t subscribe to this philosophy. Authenticity must come from the top, or it won’t be consistent or genuine, and employees can see that.

Things change rapidly, especially in today’s environment — new employees, new customers, new dynamics. What shouldn’t change is how transparent you are when it comes to your vision and communication — no matter what.

Authentic  brands

Branding creates a public perception of a company – it is largely how businesses communicate with their stakeholders and differentiate themselves. A great brand will be familiar and consistent even as time passes and products evolve.

For internal teams, their company’s brand can serve as a rallying cry; externally, branding is leveraged to form connections, compete, increase sales, attract employees and much more.

Like authentic leaders, authentic brands do as they say and say as they do. They have a brand promise that must be met or else stakeholders will lose trust with the organization. A brand that considers themselves sustainable, for instance, should have sustainable practices in place.

It’s also imperative for brands to be clear and consistent with their branding, as confusion can cause a stakeholder to lose interest and move on to competing brands. In addition, a brand breaking its promise – which can come in many shapes and sizes – may create the need for crisis PR execution.

Admittedly, 100% authenticity attainment is not feasible. It is hard to do anything 100% of the time. But if we all start considering authenticity when mapping out values and goals, making decisions and communicating with others, we’ll see the huge impact it can have on our companies, as well as in our personal and professional lives.

Anna Crowe is founder and CEO of Crowe PR. 

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Adam Grant’s famous line on executive coaches is, “Mentors are good, coaches are better.” He goes on to explain that the best coaches are those who shine the light on others and are comfortable remaining on the sidelines.

Behind every great leader or successful manager is a team of people who helped them get there – and I can almost guarantee that there was a coach helping to guide the way. The volume and velocity of change and disruption have been heightened in every aspect of our lives – and particularly our professional lives. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why my coaching business has quadrupled in the past few years.

No matter how successful –  or experienced –  one is, sometimes we need people who can help us navigate through uncharted territory. Coaches are trained professionals who can help you find the signal in the noise. We look at you with a “fresh lens” and act as a sounding board for your ideas and frustrations. We can help you reframe limiting thoughts and workshop challenging situations. Good coaches balance cheerleading with accountability. We are like career co-pilots, mapping out your journey and helping you land the plane (or the project!) smoothly and successfully.

A coach might help you undertake career transitions or plan professional pivots; get promoted; create long-term career plans; prepare for a C-Suite role; hone their executive presence; master having difficult conversations; and much more. What I know without a doubt is that working with an executive coach can help you achieve and exceed your professional goals.

You might want a coach if:

• You are working toward a promotion or have been tapped for one
• You are unhappy in your current position – or profession –  but are unsure how to pivot
• You are burned out and need to develop strategies to manage stress and create healthy work boundaries
• You want to be a more effective manager, leader or key opinion leader but aren’t sure what that looks like
• You want to create better results for yourself and your team.

How to find the right coach

So much of my business comes via recommendations from current and former clients. However, I always encourage prospective clients to do their due diligence so they find the coach that’s the right fit for their needs. Remember, this is a trust-based relationship where the topics discussed are deeply personal. It’s important that your coach makes you feel at ease so you can do the deep work required to get the best result. Plan to interview two or three coaches before deciding on one.

To make it easier, use this checklist to help guide you through the coach identification and selection process.

• Referrals: The best way to find a coach is through a trusted referral. Try to get specifics on what factors made their coaching experience successful.
• Experience: Do the coach’s experience and areas of expertise align with your needs? Also, what are their credentials and how long have they been coaching clients?
• Personality/Chemistry: Is this someone you want to spend time with? Do you respect their opinion? Can you be vulnerable around them? Do they seem to get you?
• Coaching methodology: What is their preferred style and process?
• Road map to success: How do they define success and how will they get you there?
• Success stories and references: Can they refer you to people they have worked with in the past who can speak to their expertise and results?
• Inspiration: Have they themselves been successful? Will they be inspiring for you to work with?
• Price: Are their fees competitive and do they fit within your budget?
• Time: What is the timeline to get to the end goal?
• Safe space and confidentiality: Will you trust them with your thoughts and needs and do you feel comfortable sharing and being open with them?

Many coaches can flex to meet your own specific needs. You can hire them for a specific period of time to achieve a specific goal or you can hire them ongoing to help you work through longer-term goals. Coaches can be tapped into on an ongoing basis at different points in time. Whether it’s a few sessions for a tune-up or to work on a new goal or challenge. Many successful leaders who use coaches describe it as having a secret weapon at your disposal – there when you need it.

So, what are you waiting for?

Mary Olson-Menzel is the founder and CEO of MVP Executive Development and co-founder of Spark Insight Coaching.

The post Why you should hire a business coach – and how to find a great one appeared first on PR Daily.

In today’s tumultuous world, we’re all looking for leaders to give us direction.

But what’s the best way to deliver that guidance? Whether you’re talking about a CEO or a supervisor who manages just one person, being able to concisely and precisely deliver your vision is critical to long-term success, happiness and productivity.

In “Tap into the power of your leadership communications” from Ragan Consulting Group, you’ll learn how to empower your leadership team to improve communications and drive business results.

This free download will teach you:

• Simple tips for communicating an organizational vision
• How to choose messengers for communicating corporate change
• Training tactics for helping mid-level managers with internal comms
• And much more

Download this free white paper today and start improving your communications, starting at the top.

The post Tap into the power of your leadership communications appeared first on PR Daily.

Solving climate and sustainability issues requires a complex response.

To make real progress, organizations must implement a variety of approaches and consider massive changes to meet what scientists say is an impending catastrophe for the planet. And business leaders are increasingly feeling the imperative to act.

In a recent report from WE Communications and YouGov, 56% of respondents to a survey of global business leaders say investors and stakeholders see sustainability as a significant or very significant priority.

(Image via)

But progress on these issues can be slow, and there’s a big gap in how top execs feel about the progress being made versus middle management.

Where 61% of C-suite leaders and executive level officer surveyed say the organization is planning to implement “a just transition strategy” to more sustainable operations, only 40% of senior and middle managers agree.

The gap is even bigger when respondents were asked to agree or disagree with the statement “It is likely that the private sector will reach Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.”

(Image via)

The importance of management comms

The disconnect between managers and CEOs reveals an opportunity for education and collaboration within the enterprise.

Perhaps underscoring the disconnect between workers and top-level execs is the idea of a “just” transition, which WE Communications defines as a process that “seeks to ensure that the process of creating a more sustainable world benefits the health, happiness and living standards of all.”

The switch from fossil fuels to sustainable energy sources will have economic consequences for many, and concerns about the affordability of such efforts are the No. 1 roadblock for progress, per the report.

Of particular importance for comms pros is the report’s recommendation to close the gap between CEO’s aspirations and companywide action.

From the report:

C-suite and executive leadership must lead the internal conversation about their organizations’ just transition strategies, bearing in mind that many senior and midlevel managers will be anxious about what these changes will mean for their departments. How will they implement these directives? How will they be evaluated? What if they don’t have the right skills or resources to implement their bosses’ optimistic plans?

If the gap isn’t closed, organizations risk reputational damage as external promises on climate and sustainability issues fall short of the internal reality of daily operations.

The post This perception gap threatens your sustainability message, report says appeared first on PR Daily.

The COVID-19 pandemic spotlighted the difficulties of many organizations to reach their employees. Even as work life recovers, many people leaders still struggle to convey timely and accurate information to their teams and respond to their questions.

That can leave employees worried or confused. Or both.

Communicators have so many tools and channels: email, intranets, newsletters, chat apps and print publications. It’s time to focus on managers as your No. 1 internal communications channel to reinforce broad organizational messages and make them relevant to their teams.

We just need to equip them with the correct information and necessary skills.

Only 34% of people managers have access to communication training, according to a survey of 1,300 HR and communication leaders by Gallagher. Lack of comms training has undoubtedly played a role in The Great Resignation. In a well-worn phrase that’s true nonetheless:  Employees leave managers, not companies.

Here are four ways to help support your manager’s communication efforts:

1. Tip sheets: Start now with year-round reminders and tips to managers. Topics might include:

• How to handle difficult conversations
• Holding productive team meetings
• Gathering feedback from employees
• Best practices for getting your email messages read.
• How to use inclusive language

Establish a cadence to send these tip sheets to managers, so that managers know when to expect them.

2. Toolkits: After every town hall, new program or leadership announcement, managers should receive a supporting toolkit. The toolkit should highlight the “what,” “why,” and “how” of communication, with suggestions on how to use it.

Provide specific talking points for managers in their team meetings and huddles. Always add FAQs that anticipate questions team members are likely to ask. Be sure to deliver the toolkits immediately after an event or announcement.

3. Training: Don’t assume your managers are confident about expressing themselves. Offer in-person or virtual 60-minute sessions to help people leaders with their presentations, delivery and listening. During the training, discuss how often and when managers should communicate with their team members. Include communication simulations to give managers a hands-on opportunity to apply what they learn and ask questions.

 Follow up: Managers are in the best position to gather employee reactions about business updates and changes, take their questions to leadership and then report back. Work with your leaders to set expectations for managers and carve out time for feedback.

More than 36% of employees say their manager “seems burned out at work,” according to the 2021 People Management Report, a survey of workers in 15 industries by The Predictive Index. Meanwhile, the No. 1 skill employees feel their manager lacks is effective communication. These two findings are hardly a coincidence.

Establishing an effective manager communication plan takes the burden off your people leaders to determine what needs to be shared and when. As the flow of information improves, employees’ anxiety will lessen.

And reducing employee anxiety will help slow down one of the costly effects of poor communications: high turnover.

Rebecca Shaffer is the managing partner of Ragan Consulting Group. Schedule a call with Tom Corfman to learn how we can help you improve your communications effort with training, consulting and strategic counsel. Follow RCG on LinkedIn here and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

The post 4 ways to strengthen your manager communication efforts appeared first on PR Daily.

[Editor’s Note: PR Daily has partnered with The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations to develop our newest column, Lessons in Leadership. This column will rotate among Plank Center Board of Advisor members, their emerging leaders network and board alumni, concentrating on moments of personal leadership and the lessons they impart.]

His name was Robert D. Cantley, MSgt, USAF. I first met him in July 1971 when he was first sergeant of the 3646th Air Base Group Squadron at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas.

I was a brand-new second lieutenant, less than a month into my time in the Air Force. Eventually I would be a public affairs officer, but that July my first assignment was to be commander of Cantley’s squadron.

And like most second lieutenants, I knew absolutely nothing. In many ways, Cantley had to look out for me as much as he had to look out for the airmen in the squadron.

I wasn’t in college anymore. I was now in a formal leadership position that had some real authority, where I could (and did) effect the lives of others. I desperately wanted to be a good leader and I knew I needed Cantley’s help to do that. As the first sergeant, he would advise on the enlisted personnel in the squadron. That’s what first sergeants do. But I needed more. I needed a mentor.

Initiating those conversations with Cantley was hard for me. I had to overcome a bit of uncertainty and a lot of the youthful pride that infects most second lieutenants. He was enlisted and I was an officer. He was older but my subordinate. I was the commander, and already supposed to know what I was doing. Or so I thought.

It was when I removed those self-imposed roadblocks and began to actively seek his guidance and advice that I began to learn leadership in the Air Force…and discovered the value of having a mentor. Because of our ranks and roles, we never called it a mentor/mentee relationship. But that’s exactly what it was. It was a relationship that I remember fondly to this day, 50 years later.

In both my personal and professional life, I’ve been blessed with good mentors, but none was better than Bob Cantley.

• He never told me what to do. He always asked questions that allowed me to reveal the truth to myself.
• He listened more than he spoke.
• He would let me make mistakes I could learn from, but he never let me make a mistake I couldn’t recover from.
• He honored privacy and confidentiality.
• He treated all my questions with respect and was always honest, even when telling me things I didn’t want to hear…but needed to hear anyway.
• He never took advantage of the relationship and always respected my role in the squadron.
• He saw the big picture, understanding my growth and development was good for the Air Force as well as for me.

Sometimes pride won’t allow us to seek a mentor who may be a subordinate or is junior to us, either formally or informally. If so, we might miss opportunities to learn and be better leaders.

It’s not the rank, or the position that counts. What’s important is the relationship and the wisdom that’s imparted. And that wisdom can come from anywhere.

Rick White is a retired professor and former comms leader for utilities including Wisconsin Energy Corporation (now WEC Energy Group) and others.

The post What I learned about leadership from my time in the Air Force appeared first on PR Daily.

Even a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan like me has to admit it: Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time.

I wasn’t terribly surprised by the news recently that he was un-retiring and returning to professional football — a decision the seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback chalked up to “unfinished business” on the field. Brady has been on a journey of continuous improvement for nearly 30 years. So, despite being the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards, completions, touchdown passes and wins (regular season and playoffs), he feels like there’s still more work to do.

Focusing on growth

The psychologist who developed the concept of a “growth mindset,” Stanford professor Carol Dweck, says it’s based on a belief that talent can be cultivated. A growth mindset leads to learning, collaborating and improving, and that is why it’s a quality desired by high-performing companies like Lockheed Martin. It’s a version of the age-old nature vs. nurture paradigm: Are we only as good as we were born to be? Or are we works in progress?

When I played sports, the successful players I observed embraced a growth mindset. If they weren’t fast enough, they worked on becoming more explosive through weight training and sprints. In baseball, if they were striking out on a certain pitch, they spent hours in the batting cage working on seeing and reacting. In basketball, they became gym rats, perfecting jumpers from every angle and distance. They listened to their coaches, and they put in the time to turn their weaknesses into strengths.

Brady is that kind of player. A self-described “typical kid,” he tells the Armchair Expert podcast: “I wasn’t born like Michael Jordan, I wasn’t born like LeBron” with special gifts or physical capabilities. “There were other kids that were always bigger, always faster, always stronger.” Even when he was picked in the NFL draft — it was with the 199^th pick in the sixth round.

“I learned that if I was going to achieve anything, it was going to be through really hard work. I was always behind everybody, so I always felt like I had to work twice as hard,” he says.

Brady worked on his habits. He listened to nutritionists and learned to eat better. He took advice from sports psychologists and made incremental changes. He was open and “coachable.” He earned seven Super Bowl rings and five Super Bowl MVP awards not because he was the most gifted, but because he was always working to improve.

Becoming the best

As corporate communicators, we all want to be the GOAT (greatest of all time) for our teams. Achieving greatness takes a commitment to formal and informal learning, a willingness to accept feedback and criticism, and an acceptance that there is no end state. Consider these tips:

1. Be well-rounded. Many of us focus on certain communications disciplines, like media relations, executive communications or marketing. But developing skills outside your specialty area is a must for working on a collaborative team, and for moving up into leadership positions. Make sure you’re cultivating a broad knowledge and always working to improve foundational skills like writing.

2. Get smart on the business. Our role is to be strategic advisors, and that means aligning to your company’s business goals. At Lockheed Martin, we build our campaigns and communications programs to support business outcomes, and we use data to measure how we’re doing. It’s also important to keep tabs on the competition and learn from what other comms shops are doing in your industry.

3. Stay on top of trends. Our profession is one that is constantly changing — whether it’s because of current events, new technology or a digital platform. It takes some effort to keep up with best practices. It’s good to stay active with professional associations such as PRSA, IABC, Ragan and Page Society. They provide opportunities for learning, networking and information-sharing.

4. Build relationships. Network and trade ideas with your peers. Find a mentor who challenges you to become better. Work with a colleague who can be an accountability partner. And pay it forward. I often learn the most from mentoring others or taking the time to listen to talented people on our team.

A growth mindset is something you can incorporate into your daily habits, the way you approach problems or deal with setbacks. How are you applying a growth mindset to your role?

Dean Acosta is senior vice president and chief communications officer for Lockheed Martin.

The post How to be a GOAT among communicators appeared first on PR Daily.

Numerous sources discuss the origin of the term “ghostwriting”—it could mean drafting secret invisible messages using lemon juice, detectable only when the paper is heated. However, the most accurate definition of ghostwriting might be, “one whose work is credited to another.”

Ghostwriters help celebrities pen best-selling autobiographies, write chart-topping hits for musicians, draft heartfelt direct mail appeals, and position executives as thought leaders. Some sources claim at least 60% of nonfiction is written by ghostwriters. You could argue ghostwriters are also behind the language on websites, commercials, brochures, billboards – anything written without a byline.

But right now, let’s focus on the standard ghostwriter for executives.

Being a ghostwriter simply means writing behind the scenes, uncredited, as the voice for someone else. I learned about this early in my career when I worked as an in-house copywriter for The Franklin Mint. Back then, I wrote long-form letters gushing about Fabergé eggs lavished in 24-karat gold, limited-edition diecast replica cars and breathtakingly beautiful porcelain dolls. These sales appeals were signed by President and CEO Stewart Resnick.

The first time I realized he never even saw the letters we wrote for him, let alone signed them, was startling. I had been a writer since my single-digit childhood years, penning poems, short stories and articles. Wasn’t the whole point of writing to express yourself through words?

That early experience steered my writing career toward commercial writing versus journalism. Being an advertising copywriter or corporate marketing manager meant writing for clients and company leaders every day. Transitioning to the nonprofit world was similar. Now, I’m used to ghostwriting for executives and writing more for others than I do for myself.

Ghostwriters can be speechwriters, communications advisors, chiefs of staff, consultants or contractors. They write inspirational quotes, thought leadership articles, company blogs, emails, video scripts, speeches, general executive positioning, books, and more.

Here are three best practice tips for ghostwriting:

• Study your source’s style to nail the voice of the person you’re writing for. Do they use historical quotes from Winston Churchill and Socrates or modern culture references from Game of Thrones and Justin Bieber? Casual slang or formal language? Interview them or listen to videos or podcasts of them speaking. Read what they’ve written. Use their direct quotes when possible. You’ll uncover their personal brand and stylistic preferences, just as you would for an organization’s brand.
• Build a review process. When possible, always have your source review what you’ve ghostwritten for them. Their edits—especially embellishing with personal anecdotes and storytelling—make the writing come alive, tapping into what makes your source unique.
• Stay on brand. Ensure your ghostwriting matches not just the executive, but also matches the organizational voice. Look for synergies between the form and the function of your message. If an executive is informal but the brand is formal, find a compromise between the two and do your best.

Although ghostwriting is commonplace in every field and in nearly every organization, some still may question the ethical implications of ghostwriting. Should ghostwriters be credited? Should bylines be shared? Should editors be acknowledged? You might prefer ghostwriters be noted similar to the formal letter-writing days when the initials of a typist were referenced at the bottom of a letter, after the author’s initials.

In the end, it takes time to master ghostwriting just as it does with any other form of written communication. You may never know who is behind the curtain, writing for a thought leader, executive, celebrity, or online influencer.

To all those ghostwriters, whoever you are — you are seen. Let’s encourage all ghostwriters to write publicly using their own bylines, in addition to writing for others without credit. Writing for yourself reminds you that what you say matters.

Amanda Ponzar is the chief communications & strategy officer at CHC: Creating Healthier Communities. Connect with her on LinkedIn. 

The post 3 tips for finding your executive’s voice as a ghostwriter appeared first on PR Daily.

A well-articulated company purpose can be understood and communicated by every member of the workforce— whether they sit in the C-Suite or stand on the frontline. This February, purpose expert Ashley M. Grice spoke during a TED Institute event in partnership with BCG about how employees in all tiers of a business play critical roles in championing their organization’s purpose.

Grice began by describing an early-morning Delta flight, when she pocketed a pack of almonds given out during food service. While chatting with a flight attendant, Grice said she would not have time to eat lunch that day. Upon exiting the plane, the flight attendant handed Grice a bag of 30 almond packs. In the bag was a note thanking Grice for showing the flight crew kindness. It read, in part, “a little kindness goes a long way.”

“This little note on this little napkin was purpose in action, specifically that airline’s purpose, and I know because I’d helped to articulate it over 15 years before,” said Grice, explaining how she helped Delta redefine its purpose in 2003 as part of a strategic transformation after 9/11.

“It may be that (the flight attendant) never saw that purpose line rearticulated, but no matter —she didn’t need to, because purpose was alive and well at Delta,” Grice said. “It had become muscle memory. It had become culture norm.”

Why purpose is different from your mission and your vision

Grice stressed that a company’s purpose was different from its mission — what it does every day — or its vision, which refers to where it is headed.

“Mission and vision will change with changes in leadership, corporate contacts, competitive landscape, merger and acquisition,” she said. They are temporary and can change every three to five years.

“But purpose is your ‘why’ — it is found at the intersection of who you are at your very best and the role in the world that you are meant to play.”

Communicating purpose should be uncomfortable

While many studies connect purpose to business value, Grice acknowledged how efforts to increase performance, employee engagement, retention and higher levels of productivity come back to a belief that those companies are communicating their purpose authentically. An organization’s purpose is commonly considered as authentic when it is rooted in an ethos, relevant to all audiences and consistent with your values.

The post How to spread purpose from the frontline to the CEO appeared first on PR Daily.

Strong organizations have strong leaders to set ambitious goals, lead around obstacles and rally the team to success. Communicating a leader’s vision is critical to achieving that success – but also a challenge in a world where so many of us are still working apart from our colleagues.

SnapComms’ “Lead from the Front in 2022” guide helps internal communicators share these important messages at all levels of an organization and make sure they’re seen, understood and acted on.

The guide shares how to:

• Reinforce company vision with regular leadership communication.
• Lift the profile of the leadership team to increase transparency and build trust.
• Deliver essential information via top-down messaging that reaches all employees.
• Inspire workplace performance with recognition from leaders.
• Provide reassurance with empathetic leadership communications.
• Solicit employee feedback to gain insights for improving internal communications.

Get the free SnapComms guide and learn how to develop digital leadership communications that strengthen employee engagement.

The post Why you must lead from the front in 2022 appeared first on PR Daily.

Hello, communicators:

Kentucky native and Grammy-nominated rapper Jack Harlow is partnering with KFC to share his favorite “Kentucky fried” foods with fans.

Harlow recently met with Chris Scott, KFC’s head chef, in Louisville, to get the full KFC experience — complete with a photo op and fried chicken taste-testing.

(Image via)

Harlow fans can order his favorite KFC menu items through the KFC app — a nod to how companies are tying big marketing campaigns to business outcomes, like app downloads.

From the news release:

“It goes without saying that our classics will never go out of style, but as Jack’s favorites, a few of them are getting celebrity status,” said KFC U.S. CMO Nick Chavez. “We are excited to make Jack’s favorites available now on the KFC app, and can’t wait to share what’s next with Jack Harlow and KFC. Stay tuned. You won’t want to miss it.”

KFC’s celebrity partnership is the latest in a slew of restaurant-influencer deals, among them Justin Bieber’s Tim Horton’s meal and Mariah Carey’s Christmastime McDonald’s deal.

Here are today’s other top stories:

Airlines’ request to drop mask mandate gets mixed consumer response

Several major airline companies called on President Joe Biden to lift the mask mandate and other COVID-19 precautions for air travelers this week.

Last month, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) extended the federal mask mandate for public transportation through April 18.

NBC News reports that trade group Airlines for America penned a letter to Biden, asking him to lift the mask mandate and travel testing requirements due to the “high level of immunity in the U.S., availability of high-quality masks for those who wish to use them, hospital-grade cabin air, widespread vaccine availability and newly available therapeutics.”

From NBC News:

“We are requesting this action not only for the benefit of the traveling public, but also for the thousands of airline employees charged with enforcing a patchwork of now-outdated regulations implemented in response to COVID-19,” read Wednesday’s letter, which was signed by the heads of 10 airlines, including American, Delta and United.

Twitter users reacted to the prospect of maskless travel, with some expressing dismay:

Dropping masks on planes and buses is going to be a grave mistake. The airlines is how the virus got to our shores in the first place. What's the international flights that bring deadly viruses into our country. Stop the madness the virus is still in the air. Cover up people

— HAPPY LUCKY (@HappyLu84721844) March 24, 2022

Leaders shouldn’t give in to the noise out of political pressure. Pray they see what’s coming & that we’re prepared. Letting up on masks for planes & transportation is asking for trouble. Why don’t people realize masks are a major reason why airlines have been able to keep going? https://t.co/IQq2EkS0f5

— Renee UK (@ReneeUKCats) March 24, 2022

Others seemed excited at the chance to board a plane without a mask:

For the love of God please end the masks on planes and airports. If people still need to scream at others aim it towards the people who take their shoes and socks off on the plane https://t.co/kq3tfyoh57

— Drew Kochmann (@drewskie88) March 24, 2022

Dump useless masks on planes ASAP https://t.co/ZPs2GEcfsI

— Tristan Flynn (@TristanCPDT) March 23, 2022

What you should know: The mixed response on social media shows that unwinding COVID-19 business conditions is still a complicated proposition. With a wide range of consumer comfort, creating environments that suit the needs of everyone will require careful listening and testing.
This is an example of where social listening data can be useful to C-suite members in making business operations decisions. While airlines are campaigning to drop the COVID-19 travel protocols, companies should still be mindful of the portion of people who still may not feel safe going maskless. Designing a messaging strategy to speak to these passengers in particular will be key in retaining positive brand sentiment moving forward.

MEASURED THOUGHTS

A new report from Signal AI shows S&P 500 companies Microsoft, Amazon and Apple received the most positive media coverage related to the gender pay gap over the last year.

(Image via)

Microsoft was mentioned in 770 positive articles about the issue, followed by Amazon.com (532) and Apple Inc. (490).

The next closest company to receive a number of favorable mentions related to the gender pay gap was Alphabet Inc. (42), Google’s parent company.

It’s a reminder to PR pros that how your organization is treating its employees is a external reputation issue that PR pros must monitor. Brand sentiment is easily swayed by evidence that organizations treat (and compensate) their workers fairly.

View more from the Signal AI report here.

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The survey will take less than 10 minutes to complete and participants will be entered in a drawing for a $100 credit toward a Ragan event. All individual responses will be kept confidential.

Results from the survey will be shared at PR Daily’s Media Relations and Measurement Conference in New York City on May 11.

Spotify will move its social audio feature into the main app

According to a report from Bloomberg, Spotify will move its live audio feature into the main Spotify app to make it more visible, marking a noteworthy move in the music streaming company’s efforts to dive into social audio.

Spotify’s Greenroom launched in summer 2021 with built-in recording and chat features. The company will rebrand Greenroom as Spotify Live.

From The Verge:

Spotify launched Greenroom on iOS and Android last year as a competitor to Clubhouse. It was built on Locker Room, an app created by Betty Labs, a software developer that Spotify acquired last March. When it launched Greenroom, Spotify was one of several tech platforms building live audio products, hoping to catch some of the buzz (and users) that Clubhouse, originally invite-only, garnered in its first year.

Why it matters: While much of the hype around the original social audio app, Clubhouse, has died down, PR pros would be remiss to ignore Spotify’s offering. Social audio is ripe for creativity and growth, and Spotify’s renewed commitment to Greenroom/Spotify Live is a sign that things could get interesting very quickly.

New to social audio? Try hosting on Twitter Spaces, where organizations from newsrooms to brand accounts have found success in reaching live audiences. And here are four rules to follow when getting into social audio platforms.

The post Airline CEOs push to drop masks, which companies earned kudos on fixing gender pay gap and Spotify brings social audio to its core app appeared first on PR Daily.