I didn’t bake sourdough bread, adopt a rescue dog, attempt a home reno or train for a marathon. Rethinking my playbook for leadership communications was my 2020-21 pandemic project.
Those revisions began after my boss shot down a tried and true tactics. She was looking for new ways to communicate. I pitched an old idea. She nixed that idea by pointing out obvious problems – problems that hadn’t been obvious to me while I rolled out the idea at two previous employers.
I was also looking at leadership comms from a new perspective. For the first time in my career, I wasn’t in a central PR team or working out of a president’s office. I spent my days closer than ever to the frontlines working alongside colleagues who weren’t in PR.
So I revisited my playbook for leadership communications, rethinking everything from social media, videos and podcasts to coffee chats and breakfast meetings, thought leadership, strategic planning, speechwriting and town halls.
I’ve summed up what PR pros like me say, what busy, weary and slightly cynical employees think and what leaders could do instead when it comes to communicating and connecting with folks on the frontlines.
Leadership Miscommunication draws on 28 years worth of some hits, more than a few misses and lots of lessons learned from dozens of senior leaders who I worked with and watched in action during tour stops at a non-profit, hospital, steelmaker, college and university.
I’ve pulled together a series of earlier posts that went up during the fall. Leadership Miscommunication is a free, no obligation download. I’m not trying to sell you anything. I don’t want your email address. And I’m not angling for a speaking gig or consulting work. This revised playbook, along with figuring out how to make a flipbook, were my pandemic projects.
Always happy to hear what you think I got right or wrong about leadership communications. And whether I should’ve spent the pandemic learning how to bake bread.
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