Four must-have communication skills for leaders in a post Covid world

It feels too early to even talk about a 'post-Covid world' but suffice to say the changes wrought by the pandemic have changed society and working life perhaps permanently.  Senior executives, more than ever, still need to lead and do so in an era of disruptive change.  They need to devise and execute strategy in a dramatically changed world with many uncertainties, and as they communicate, they need to inspire confidence in the company strategy, from the inside out (employees, investors, customers), they need to motivate a remote workforce; they need to build and maintain the company reputation in an environment beset by enormous economic uncertainty and changing societal mores.
 
Quite a lot to ask.  So what communications skills are vital in today’s volatile world?

1. Belief in the company’s Purpose.  This sounds obvious but a leader must know and believe in the company’s intrinsic reason for being and this really does need to go beyond delivering profits and value for shareholders. True ‘Purpose’ is not just saying what you do.  Purpose should unify stakeholders while embodying a company’s role in the broader economic, societal, or environmental context. Simply put, it’s why you do what you do.  Purpose is about how you make your money, not just what you do with it. It’s about the very reason you exist and the value you create beyond your shareholders. Authentic purpose is aligned with and embedded into your business strategy. By now, few people can have missed the fact that purpose-driven companies perform better, retain staff, attract new employees, and attract investors.  According to Deloitte, companies with Purpose witness higher market share gains and grow three times faster on average than their competitors, all while achieving higher workforce and customer satisfaction.
2. The ability to articulate that Purpose in an engaging way is also essential.  A leader who can communicate well is able to bring Purpose to life via strong and memorable messaging.  The most powerful executive communications however, also integrate strong messaging and stories into creative and engaging thought leadership programs that are rolled out across all platforms that the target audience uses – from C level media (think BBC, FT, New York Times) to top tier speaker platforms.
3. Strong sense of society’s expectations.  Society now demands more from business than an articulation of Purpose: there is now an increased need to stand for something in a public way.  Edelman’s latest Trust Barometer reports that stakeholders now want CEOs to step in when the government does not , to fix societal problems; they also expect CEOs to speak out on societal issues and  hold themselves accountable to the public and not just to the board of directors or stockholders.  However, a note of caution.  It is not enough to ‘scan the zeitgeist’ and simply hitch your wagon to a theme you think will appeal to your target audience.  It needs to be authentic, and you need to not only ‘talk the talk’ but also ‘walk the walk’.  Witness the backlash against l'Oréal for supporting the Black Lives Matter, just three years after dropping Munroe Bergdorf, a Black trans woman, from their campaigns.  That’s why our own Purpose framework contains a stringent data-driven methodology to help executives develop an authentic, relevant, and robust Purpose narrative that not only is reflective of societal mores but also operationally authentic, to help them do this. 
4. The skill to articulate Purpose. Not everyone is a natural speaker.  Some executives have a horror of speaking to the media, or addressing a Townhall of employees, or an audience of peers at Davos.  Good coaching, strong messaging, genuine belief in the subject matter, a red thread of authenticity in the Purpose – all of these will aid the important need to be able to articulate your ‘why’ to the audience.
   
   Now, more than ever, business leaders need to communicate effectively to a disparate, dispersed, attention-challenged group of stakeholders with complex needs.  The skillset of a successful communications leader needs to grow accordingly.  If you’d like an ‘outside in’ view of your executive communications, please get in touch for a free audit. 
   
   

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