As companies continue to grapple with pressure from various stakeholders to weigh in (or not) on politically charged issues, FGS DC partners offered some insights on a panel with corporate chief legal officers and directors about how to make good decisions.
Major geopolitical unrest; a fundamental change in how information is distributed and consumed; inequality and wage stagnation and changing demographics have brought us to this moment of polarization and distrust in political leaders, among other things.
As a result, pressures on businesses to offer moral leadership are coming from a panoply of stakeholders with important constituencies vehemently disagreeing on when and how a company should engage.
What you thought you knew about which stakeholders would fall on which side of an issue has changed multiple times over the past year. Current research shows major divides between older and younger Americans as well as divisions along racial and party lines.
That leaves companies with a few important lessons. Know who you are and what you stand for and don’t be swayed as the political weather changes on a daily basis.
We recommend three guiding principles for thinking about engaging on divisive issues:
Authenticity. Is the area your company is engaged in authentic to your brand and the business/industry you are in?
Consistency. Are you in it for the long haul? Is your investment real and meaningful? Despite pushback from some of your stakeholders, will you hold the line?
Rigor. Have you done the work to understand the why, the who and the where? In a moment where your employees, customers and investors may come at issues from very different vantage points, have you mapped where all of your stakeholders are? Do you have a process internally – with the right people at the table to make decisions about engagement?