The Leadership Gut Check

Not too long ago, a prospective client contacted me about a situation the organization faced. Leadership was alerted to a problem through a series of social media allegations, but it didn’t yet know how based in truth the claims were, or whether the problem was systemic or not.

This type of scenario is not uncommon for a crisis communicator. A good one knows that this is the time to put leadership to the test in the same way it would be challenged by the media and other publics.

So, as part of a larger discovery process, I asked the same questions any reporter might ask if he or she knew what I knew. I followed up with tougher questions, and if they didn’t give me a straight answer, I gave them honest and quick feedback and recommendations.

More than a Q&A

I usually frame this for a client as a preliminary “gut check” for them and for me. Keep in mind, this is somewhat different from your typical media training exercise which focuses on Q&A. This is a deeper heart-to-heart discussion as part of a mutual trust-building process to determine what is possible.

As a counselor, you need to do this for leadership, and you need to do it for yourself. You need to get a clear sense of how leadership might respond to the full range of criticism and attacks. Will leaders be defensive or evasive? Strong or weak?  Apologetic or unapologetic? What’s their comfort level?  

You need to know, because what you learn will determine strategy and messaging, among other things.

A gut check helps to make sure everyone’s on the same page and prepared for what is to come. I’ve learned that regardless of what seems like the best strategy, if leadership doesn’t have the stomach to follow through, then the strategy and the communications program will collapse.

Best-laid plans

This happened to me years ago when I had an education client who faced a series of protests when leadership decided to change unionized vendors. 

The union representing the workforce of the former vendor went on attack. The union representing the workforce of the new vendor stayed silent. In the middle sat the organization’s management team and board.

To her credit, the CEO was ready to unapologetically make a strong case for how the decision best served the needs of students. We conducted media training, developed key messages, and of course, we had that gut check at the outset. She was prepared.

Protestors showed up, and the media followed, and she stood strong. In terms of telling the organization’s story accurately and clearly, she was winning in the court of public opinion.

The wild card was the organization’s chairperson. While he had bought into the strategy in concept, when his name started to show up in media coverage, the pressure got to him. In the end, he reversed the decision.

Had I had the chance to give him the same sort of gut check I had given the CEO — my primary point of contact – I likely would have sensed much sooner that he did not have the will to defend that important business decision. Then I would have counseled a somewhat different strategy more suited to his comfort level as well.

The lesson is that a communications strategy is only as good as the leadership charged with executing it. If you are going to advise decisive steps, then make sure your leadership is willing to take such steps and is prepared for the initial reaction in the context of a larger process. The best way to do this is to give them a gut check up front.