Mastering Executive Communications in 2023
The tides have been changing for effective executive communications. Here’s what you need to know about creating the best communications strategy for your employees and stakeholders in 2023.
Learn to Love Objective Feedback
You’ve made it to the top thanks to your many strengths and achievements. But that doesn’t mean you’re perfect. And when it comes to your communications strategy, there will always be room for improvement, if you’re willing to listen.
“The best CEOs are those who are willing to have their thinking challenged constantly and who consider those kinds of challenges in the spirit in which they’re given.” Jon Pepper, partner and founder of NY-based communication strategy firm Indelable, learned this over the course of his 30-year career.
When a CEO can accept feedback, it has a ripple effect. It empowers your team to think creatively about your strategy, to embrace trial and error. Constructive criticism can help you shine on camera and get your videos seen. And when your videos are seen by the right audiences, it makes your organization more successful.
Just remember—as you improve on camera, don’t let your ego get in the way of striving to be even better. Keep asking for feedback, keep the channels open. Go as far as choosing a few key people to review your videos and encourage them to freely give you feedback on your performances. Keep your ego in check—even if people are telling you how wonderful you are as a boss on and off camera.
Outline Metrics Early in the Process
Some goals are easily quantifiable with figures, like click-through rates or increased sales. Some goals are not. But leadership communication is not about sparking a transaction. It’s about aligning your tribe with your vision and inspiring them to become champions for your shared cause. There’s no easy math equation to measure that.
Many companies are prioritizing corporate intangibles like culture in 2023. Your leadership communications strategy for a culture overhaul might sound like:
→ Your company is a bit lumbering and slow to react. You want to be fast and nimble.
→ Your company is innovative but sometimes for its own sake. You want to be innovative in ways that explicitly solve your customers’ needs.
→ Your company is not getting the most from its talented people. You want to place a premium on employee development.
To make these goals a bit more tangible, there’s a few steps you should take. Harvard Business Review emphasizes these factors in an effective leadership communications strategy:
Describe the contribution you want to make. Articulate the impact of the strategy on customers, wider stakeholders (e.g., citizens), and systems (e.g., the environment).
Clarify the behaviors, activities, and outcomes that are central to the strategy and assign metrics to them.
Describe the process. Instill confidence in the way you’ve developed the strategy.
Utilize Video in Your Communications Strategy
One of the first steps to mastering video in business is to identify your audience. Millennials make up the largest generation in the workforce, with Gen Z flooding in day by day. These two are the target groups for video communications.
The youngest generations have grown up on visual media. They’ve come to expect it not only in entertainment but in the workplace. As a leader, you can connect with this audience consistently and confidently using video to share your messages, outline your goals, and build a healthy rapport.
We’ve discussed before how to calculate the ROI of your video communications. It’s important to understand how to maximize the use of your videos as you’re creating them. After all, video doesn’t have to be single-use—the best videos Tribe has crafted have lasted companies years.