The Myth of the "Strategic Communicator" Part II

This is the second of a series of three posts, based on an article that first appeared in the Journal of Employee Communications Management.

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We communicators are always saying, “They just don’t get it.” And we’re right. They just don’t, and most of them won’t. Ever. And the main reason they don’t, and they won’t, is that senior executives often make communications decisions not based on what’s best for their organization and its people, but because they want to avoid embarrassment and preserve their pride.
    Ah, good old pride, the great motivator. Go deep enough into the labyrinth of an executive mind, and you will find it, lurking behind most bad communications decisions.
    Why admit you’re a polluter with serious environmental impacts? Because you think that you’ll play into the hands of your critics and look like you have no control of your company. Unfortunately, downplaying your problems only makes the environmentalists mock you louder. But you do it anyway, because you don’t want to embarrass yourself. 
    Why stick your neck out and show leadership on a thorny issue? Because you might become a lightning rod for critics and reveal that you don’t have all the answers, or worse yet, your competitors might get mad at you at the next Chamber of Commerce meeting. Yet staying in the middle of the pack only hastens the decay of your business. But, yes, you keep your head down anyway, because you’d hate your legacy to be tinged by controversy.
    And so it goes.
A friend of mine who is a high-priced management consultant told me once that if shareholders knew how much company executives did out of pride and self-preservation, they would fire 90 percent of them tomorrow.
    And we want to sit at the same table as these people? I don’t think we do.
    When communicators actually do reach the executive suite, for some reason they end up spending a lot of their time running interference to help the CEO protect his or her pride, crafting messages that preserve the status quo and giving advice that is exactly what the executive wants to hear. Have you ever seen one who looks happy?
    So, what should we be aspiring to do with ourselves in this crazy world full of psychopaths and pride mongers? Where can we find true fulfillment and make a difference, without compromising our fragile integrity…and make a decent living at the same time?
    The answer, my friend, is to be yourself. Follow your communications (and not your executive) instincts because, whether the folks in the top of the house realize it or not, that’s why they hired you in the first place.

WATCH THE NEXT POST FOR THE THIRD AND FINAL INSTALLMENT OF 'THE MYTH OF THE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATOR'

Comments

[Jeffrey Treem]

Ron,

I understand your frustration and wholehartedly agree with your analysis that most executives are just looking to cover their butts.

However, isn't it part of our jobs as communicators to make them see why it is their long-term best interest to adopt a particular strategy? Isn't part of what we do coming up with the research, measurement and delivery that makes sense for all stakeholders. Communicators don't need to compromise their values or back down from their position, they just need to make their case. Now if those at the top are not going to listen (which usually is the case) well then I agree with you....they're crazy.

However, maybe I live in a fantasy land, or maybe I just haven't become jaded so early in my career, but as of now I refuse to believe that making a communications decsion that is best for an organization and saving pride are mutually exclusive acts.

[Ron Shewchuk]

Jeffrey, it's true that, at least in this article, I am looking at the rose through world-tinted glasses.

The longer you can hold on to your idealism and maintain your boyish enthusasm, the better. In fact, I'm a closet idealist myself. Thanks for the reminder that every action one takes in the corporate world doesn't have to involve a soul-destroying compromise.