Help! My CEO Talks Too Much…
“How do I handle this: my CEO talks too much online, and it is beginning to affect the organisation’s reputation.”
I saw this question on Twitter the other day, and thought it would be good to share my recommendations here and also get input from other professionals.
What do you do when your boss essentially ‘doesn’t know how to talk’?
First, let’s address something that is prevalent towards the end of each year: reputational crises. For reasons not very different from over exuberance, hubris, pride and just plain excitement (or sadness) about how the year has played out — people say a lot of things they may not have been free to say at other periods of the year.
You will see things like “I don’t want to take this into the new year, so let me speak my mind…”; “It’s best to get this off my chest before the year ends…”; “We are in a good place financially so a little ‘unpopular opinion’ will not hurt us too much…”
What that leads to is crisis for an organisation or an executive who may be ill-prepared to articulate a response to an allegation or outright wrong-doing.
For #PublicRelations and Comms professionals who are now responsible for communicating with stakeholders, here are my recommendations:
1. Present a case to management. Hopefully, your organisation’s management is not made up of the CEO only. Where other senior executives are available, prepare a data-backed, case study-led argument to show the potential impact of unguided executive communication on the organisation. You are not accusing, or blaming; instead you are presenting an objective argument on how to PREVENT a reputational crises.
2. Ramp up corporate communications on owned channels. This is not the time for your organisation’s corporate handles online or email newsletter to be vacuously silent. Messaging should focus on inspiring trust and demonstrating the values of the organisation. Words should be clear, simple and articulate. Speak up but do not overwhelm your audience.
3. Guided executive communication for the 2iC. Who is the most senior executive after the CEO? They need to be more active, ideally on the same platform where the CEO is often found. The task here is simple: 2iC Comms should focus on the WORK of the organisation. Talk about the people, the processes, the impact, the results. Let the relevant public know that the organisation exists outside the shadow of the CEO.
As Nigeria approaches a crucial election year, many executives and trusted public commentators will begin to unravel as they choose sides. The blow back may affect their organisations.
Some executives may also be experiencing an early or late onset of mid-life crises occasioned by the stringent challenges the world faced with the pandemic. There could be challenges within families, investor pull out, looming business failure: anything can go wrong.
Dear Communications professionals,
Let’s be prepared.
