President Harry Truman famously kept a sign on his Oval Office desk reminding visitors that “The Buck Stops Here.”
It might have then. But as compounding crises strain today’s political and social infrastructure to the breaking point, the buck increasingly finds its way to the desks of corporate CEOs and their boards of directors. Business leaders are finding themselves obliged more and more to consider – and even act on – an urgent civic agenda that ranges from the energy transition to divisive social issues to the AI revolution.
And that’s on top of the hard-enough job of running a company.
CEOs are turning to their Chief Communications Officers (CCOs) to help manage this agenda. No other function is charged so exclusively with interpreting the public’s mood and shaping the company’s response to it – with having the ability to see and act on business challenges and opportunities in their broader economic, political, social and cultural context.
Which is why companies and communicators alike sell themselves short when they focus only on the merely transactional, tactical, and quantifiable aspects of corporate communications. In today’s fraught stakeholder economy, CCOs need to do five things really well:
Communicate. This may seem obvious, but sometimes C-suite commitment to the verb lacks conviction. Communicating is not just getting the word out. It is resolving conflicts, identifying opportunities, anticipating problems – and knowing when simply to listen and learn. Of course it’s also the art of crafting a compelling, credible, coherent and consistent story – a story simple enough to win hearts and complete enough to win minds. And knowing how to deliver that story to the right audiences through the right channels at the right time to drive business results.
Lead. Good CCOs lead from the front. They know first-hand what it means to be in the trenches with media, stakeholders and business leaders. They’ve done the tactics, which gives them the insight to craft strategy. They know how to build teams with the right skills in the right places with the right resources and right mandate. They inspire and teach. They protect creative risk-takers. They speak truth to power.
Engage. The best corporate communicators are diplomats. They know and respect what makes stakeholders tick. They advocate for the business with stakeholders but know also when to advocate for stakeholders with the business. Communicators – like diplomats – know when and how to show steel. But – also like diplomats – they know how to create value and resolve issues by nurturing constructive relationships based on integrity and win-win collaborations.
Advise. Trusted CCOs are honest brokers. They speak up when the emperor is naked. They help mediate internal differences and external dilemmas. They intervene to protect the company's reputation and its shareholders from intangible risks. They test evolving business decisions and policy positions against the litmus of company values, purpose, and social license. And they help their business colleagues communicate with impact and credibility.
Reflect. Strategic communicators are thinkers as well as practitioners. Systems thinkers. Lateral thinkers. They see and synthesize what’s happening in the world "out there” and how social, political and cultural megatrends converge – or conflict – with the fortunes of the company. They use SQ – social intelligence – to create and protect value, to convert issues into opportunities, to keep the business relevant and competitive.
FGS Global offers CCOs tailored support to enhance these CLEAR capabilities. Led by partners who are veteran CCOs themselves, the program includes organizational assessment, confidential executive coaching and deep dive issues briefings.
