L12: Leadership through Effective External Relations

BA370

Leadership Communication Chapter 12: Leadership through Effective External Relations

In this chapter you will learn to develop an external relations strategy, build and maintain a positive corporate image, work with the news media, and handle crisis communications.

In developing an external relations strategy, the company should clarify purpose and strategic objectives. The messages communicated in all external materials should be clear and consistent in order to avoid confusion and unwanted associations. Then, the company should priority identify major external stakeholders which include many or all of the following: media, community, customers, investors, analysts, board, partners, distributors, suppliers or vendors, trade associations, unions, interest groups, retirees, competitors, government agencies, and the public at large. The major messages are created in the criteria of honesty, clearness, consistency, and meaningfulness. The spokespersons must be at the right level for the problem, must project a positive ethos, and should have received media training. Deciding on the most effective media or forum to ensure reaching the stakeholders is one of the critical components to develop the external relations. Timing of the external message can be also critical.

In monitoring the results, there are two common methods used to obtain feedback from the external stakeholders as follow: focus group and surveys.

In building and maintaining a positive corporate image, the company can design campaigns to promote as a whole, carry out ambitious program to champion product quality and customer service, maintain systems to screen employee activities for reputation side effects, demonstrate sensitivity to the environment, hire internal communication staff and retain public relations firms, and demonstrate “corporate citizenship”

Companies must manage all aspects of external relations very carefully. They all affect the company’s public ethos. In most organizations, the leadership communication skill of the manager has the greatest impact on that external ethos through their involvement in public relations.

The company might face with the crisis situation so the following guidelines will help company to respond appropriately.

1. Develop a general crisis communication plan and communicate it

2. Once the crisis occurs, respond quickly,

3. Make sure you have the right people ready to respond and that they all respond with the same message

4. Put yourself in the shoes of your audience

5. Do not overlook the value of the web

6. Revisit your crisis communication plan frequently

7. Build in a way to monitor the coverage

8. Perform a post crisis evaluation

Question 1: What are the steps to create a strategy for external audiences?

Answer:

·         Clarify the purpose and strategic objectives

·         Identify major audiences and stakeholders

·         Create, refine, and test major message

·         Select, limit, and coach the spokesperson

·         Establish the most effective media or forums

·         Determine the best timing

·         Monitor the results

Question 2: What are three major rules apply to selecting spokesperson?

Answer:

1.    They must be at the right level for the problem

2.    They must project a positive ethos

3.    They should have received media training

Question 3: What are six ways companies can build and maintain a positive corporate image?

Answer:

1.    Design campaigns to promote the company as a whole

2.    Carry out ambitious programs to champion products quality and customer service

3.    Maintain systems to screen employee activities for reputation side effects

4.    Demonstrate sensitivity to the environment

5.    Hire internal communication staff and retain public relations firms

6.    Demonstrate “ corporate citizenship “

L11: Leadership through Strategic Internal Communication

BA370

Leadership Communication Chapter 11: Leadership through Strategic Internal Communication

In this chapter you will learn to recognize the strategic role of employee communication, assess internal communication effectiveness, and establish effective internal communication, use missions and visions to strengthen internal communication, and design and implement effective change communication.

In the effective internal communication stage, there are the core factors as follow:

- Supportive management

- Targeted messages

- Effective media/forum

- Well-positioned staff

- Ongoing assessment

Organizational direction comes from leaders having created and effectively communicated a clear and meaningful mission and vision. Developing and communicating mission and vision is one of the most important and visible communication tasks of upper level management.

For Building an Effective mission and vision, we might start with create initial draft, then clarify the meaning. The mission and vision need to be concise. The strategic objectives are developed to make the vision. Cascading meeting is the way to test the employee about the mission and vision. It might start with the upper level of the organization broken into functions or division and then give way to cross-level, functional, or divisional meetings. Next step is the designing and implementing effective change communication which should begin with determining the scope of the change communication program, and then structuring a communication program for major change.

                                             

Question 1: What are the basic objective the employee communication should accomplish?

Answer:

1.    Educate employees in the organization’s culture, vision and strategic goals

2.    Motivate employees support for the organization’s goal

3.    Encourage higher performance and discretionary effort to achieve those goals

4.    Limit misunderstanding and rumors that may damage morale and productivity

5.    Align employees behind the organization’s performance objectives and position them to help achieve them

Question 2: What is effective internal communication consists of?

Answer:

·         Supportive management

·         Targeted messages

·         Effective media/forums

·         Well-position staff

·         Ongoing assessment

Question 3: Why effective mission and vision statements are important to an organization?

Answer:

·         They inspire individual action, determine behavior, and fuel motivation

·         They establish a firm foundation of goals, standards, and objectives to guide planners and managers

·         They satisfy both the organization’s need for efficiency and the employees’ need for group identity

·         They provide direction, which is particularly important in times of change, to keep everyone moving toward the same goals