Tips and tricks to make your internal leadership videos shine

One of the most effective tools internal communicators have at their disposal to put their leaders in their best light is video. The visual medium captures a leader’s personality in ways that the written word sometimes can’t. That relatability goes a long way toward building a culture of trust among employees.

But you can’t always just show up with a camera in a meeting with your CEO and hit record.

Alejandro Zequeira, internal communications manager at Baptist Health South Florida, told Ragan that one of the keys to the best internal leadership videos is ensuring they’ve got a sense of humanity throughout. Internal comms pros can help coax that out from even the most staid executives.

“Everybody puts their shoes on the same way,” she said. “When you interview a leader, the message has to be strong and clear — but they also need to come off as regular people.

Bringing leaders out of the ivory tower

Your C-suite doesn’t need to be a group of unseen figures whose names only show up on all-hands emails. Video can make employees feel like their leaders are accessible and share common goals and perspectives.

A former video initiative at Baptist Health South Florida called “The Flip Side” featured the hospital system’s leaders showing off their personalities in addition to their leadership qualities. These light, short-form videos aimed to strengthen the system’s culture by humanizing its leadership.

“We asked them about their biggest pet peeves, why they chose healthcare and even funny stories,” he said. “It made leaders approachable.”

He added that video messages from leaders can add some gravitas and humanity to internal comms pushes — especially during times of change. Several years ago, the team updated its values. The comms team jump-started the internal campaign with a set of videos for employees from the top brass and aimed to earn all-important buy-in from the employee base.

“The CEO kicked off the refresh on video,” he said. “That set the tone. He said, ‘This isn’t new; we’re just focusing again on what makes us who we are.’ That opening message made everything else easier. It grounded the campaign.”

Zequeira said that a production approach that fits one leader might not fit another, and that his team adjusts depending on the leader’s comfort level on camera and willingness to improvise.

“Our CEO is very much about having a script on a teleprompter,” he said. “He wants to be succinct. But we have other leaders who are more conversational and open to being themselves. You have to adjust your video approach to fit that personality.”

Zequeira added that when one leader buys into video as a viable method of internal communication with employees, comms pros can use that momentum to convince others.

“When leadership buys into something and is fully behind it, they become the stewards of that journey,” he told Ragan. “If you show that support clearly and throw yourself wholly at it, everyone else will understand the importance.”

Tips for seamless production

Creating a comfortable atmosphere during the production of leadership videos is a simple step internal communicators can take to help get the most out of leaders when they’re on film. Zequeira told Ragan that he provides a word of advice to Baptist Health South Florida’s leaders before the camera starts rolling.

“I tell people all the time to forget the camera’s there,” he said. “We’re just having a conversation. I’ll guide you, but I want you to sound like you — not like you’re reading a script.”

Zequeira also said that communicators don’t need to focus on the slickest camera work or Oscar-level editing when they want to show off their leaders. Instead, the focus should be on getting the simple things right and setting leaders up to reveal their authentic perspectives to employees.

“You don’t need a big crew to make a great video,” he said, “If you have good sound, steady shots and people being real, that’s all you need.”

He added that at Baptist Health South Florida, the aim with leadership videos is to show off leadership’s humanity. Production value matters, but it’s not the primary focus when filming.

“The videos we do are short and have an emotional appeal,” Zequeira said. “They’re about people, not perfection — real leaders, real stories and honest emotion.”

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications.