‘Boardrooms have become battlegrounds’: Preparing leaders to communicate amid turbulence

Effective leadership communication rarely happens by accident. It’s built through coaching that helps leaders move past their fears and articulate in ways that reinforce the mission of the organization.

At Ragan’s Communications Leadership Council’s member retreat this December 10-12 at the Park Hyatt Aviara in Carlsbad, California, Lynn Smith, founder and CEO of Lynn Smith Media and Communications, will speak about how communicators can help unlock the potential of leaders in a way that places both the organization and the executive in a position of strength.

“Boardrooms have become battlegrounds, media interviews are interrogations and stakeholders are looking for any crack in the armor,” Smith said. “The competitive advantage comes from equipping your CEOs and leaders not just to answer tough questions, but to maintain authority when someone is actively trying to undermine them.”

Smith also said that when leaders aren’t able to communicate effectively, it’s not usually due to a lack of effort.

“Communication breakdowns aren’t usually about a lack of preparation — they’re about fear,” she said. “When researchers looked at why leaders struggle with communication, they found three core fears — fear of being misunderstood, fear of judgment and fear of not being liked. Those fears lead to exactly the wrong response when facing adversarial pressure. Leaders get vague, they over-complicate their messages or they become defensive.”

She added that communicators need to acknowledge leaders’ fears and work with them to develop strategies to overcome them.

“Stop trying to be perfect and start being strategic,” Smith said. “That’s the shift that creates real competitive advantage.”

Here’s how.

• Follow the ACT Now framework. Smith coaches all leaders and communicators in her programs through her “ACT Now” framework —acknowledge, communicate and take responsibility For instance, if a leader needs to address workers about a tough financial quarter, the framework might look like: “Acknowledge that this has been a challenging quarter financially,” she said. “Communicate how the team plans to address this concern. Take responsibility if needed as to why this may be the case. Then share your plan to right the ship to ensure the health of this company is not at risk. When we follow this framework, the aspects of a message your audience is seeking out will then be fulfilled and it prevents them from creating a false narrative themselves.”
• Don’t just give leaders a script — cater to their style. Smith said that one of the best ways comms pros can help leaders communicate to their full potential is by working with their personalities and strengths. Smith said providing leaders with guide documents as opposed to rigid scripts can help those personalities shine and reveal a sense of authenticity. Smith also recommended formatting guides in bulleted forms topics to address and others to be aware of. The best communications happen when leaders understand their message so deeply that it becomes part of them. Communicators should work one-on-one with leaders to help them find their voice and learn how to present their message verbally and visually in a way that connects with employees.”
• Avoid the over-explanation trap. Smith said that a major pitfall for leaders is overexplaining a situation and burying the heart of the message beneath unnecessary context. Smith said this is a common issue in high-stakes leadership comms both internally and externally, and happens when leaders think they need to prove their credibility to the audience in every message. “What they actually do is dilute their most powerful message. “The rule is simple — lead with what matters most, then provide only the context that strengthens that message. Not the other way around.”

For more information about joining the Ragan Communications Leadership Council, click here.

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications.