Chapter 12: Leadership Through Effective External Relations

A positive public image or reputation affects a company’s ability to achieve all other measures of success. The companies with the best corporate reputations outperform all others. Just as the leaders determine the personality of the organization on the inside, they also shape the outside image. The goal of organizational leaders is to ensure that the company’s ethos is positive – that all external audiences consider the company honorable, trustworthy, and ethical.

This chapter provides guidelines to help manage external relations in day-to-day encounters and in crisis situations so that the organization projects a positive image.

Developing an external relations strategy require a sound communication strategy. Steps to create a strategy for external audiences:

-          Clarify the purpose and strategic objectives.

-          Identify major audiences or stakeholders.

-          Create, refine, and test major messages.

-          Select, limit, and coach the spokesperson(s).

-          Establish the most effective media or forum.

-          Determine the best timing.

-          Monitor the results.

Building and maintaining a positive corporate image: Reputation affects the bottom line, and even the strongest companies will have difficulty damage to their reputations. Leaders of organizations must give high priority to establishing and maintaining a positive corporate image and, today more than ever, that means keeping the public, customers, and all external stakeholders happy.

Working with the news media: Any leader of an organization should know why the media are important, when to talk to them, and how to manage encounters with them. First, understanding the media’s role and importance. Second, deciding when to talk to the media and Finally, Preparing for and delivering a media interview.

Handling crisis communications: A situation requiring crisis communications involves “a specific, unexpected and non-routine event or series of events that create high levels of uncertainty and threaten or are perceived to threaten an organization’s high priority goals.”

All organizations, no matter the size, must have a crisis communication plan. Nothing will replace being prepared. When a crisis happens, it is too late to develop a communication strategy and select target audiences, create appropriate message content, determine what media to use or how best to use social media, and choose spokespersons. They cannot ignore the importance of establishing and maintaining a positive reputation or the need manage external relations to keep it.