How Humble Leaders Can Learn to Love the Press
Many of the best leaders wisely give a great deal of credit to those who enable their organization to thrive. If you're one of these leaders, it can feel selfish or disingenuous to be interviewed or photographed by the press.
When exploring potential press angles that involve putting you in the media spotlight, you may find yourself thinking that you'd rather have a story that focuses on your whole team and culture. The surprising truth is that it takes your direct participation with the press to bring about a story like that.
Be a lens, not a focus
As a leader, it may as seem though making you the primary source of a story is limiting the scope. In fact, it is empowering you to shape it. This is your chance to show what makes your team and culture special. It’s incumbent on you to do so because without you as a source, it’s far less likely your organization will receive meaningful media coverage at all.
The best way to help a reporter see what makes your organization great is through anecdotes and examples. It’s not enough merely to claim that your customer service (or whatever aspect of your business you’re emphasizing) is excellent. Find an example that illustrates this and describe it in detail. Show the reporter and the audience they serve what it’s like to do business with or work for your company.
This can’t be explained in general terms—it has to be demonstrated. As the CEO or founder, you are typically the person most equipped to tie these examples to what the company stands for. By giving context to the details, their full impact can be felt.
In certain cases, there may be someone else equally qualified to speak on behalf of the company. For instance, if the story is about your firm’s innovative use of technology, the person leading that initiative may be just as viable as a source for the reporter. It may also enrich the story to include the voice of an employee on the front lines doing the work. However, as the company’s leader, it's important that you appear in the media at least occasionally because doing so has unique benefits to the story and the organization itself.
More than announcements
As the CEO or founder, reporters are going to favor you as a source because there's no one for you to defer to. You are ultimately responsible for every aspect of the organization, so you can speak to the parts as well as the whole. This makes for stories with more depth.
Press releases and spokespersons are great for company announcements. Naturally, the stories that result from them are transactional: “Company X now offers service Y in territory Z.” In contrast, a story with you at the center has the potential to provide insight into why the company exists, where it’s going, what drives it, and what it contributes to the world. This type of coverage—which manifests in colorful, memorable headlines and stories—has an exponentially greater effect on your bottom line and your company's reputation.
When you truly engage with the press, you will also find that it has a galvanizing and energizing effect within your organization. Seeing their leader in the media discussing what makes the company special reminds employees that they work for a newsworthy organization that is doing something that matters. Without you to guide the press in uncovering it, that story remains untold.
About the author
Jason Simms is the founder of Simms PR, a public relations firm based in Connecticut specializing in B2Bs. Before becoming an entrepreneur, he was a journalist contributing to major newspapers, public radio, and online media.