MESSAGE CLARITY IS DEADLY SERIOUS

We’ve seen the effect of having a clear message with decisive action. It can result in a transformed culture and a unified successful action plan. We’ve also witnessed the deadly consequence of not being truthful, transparent and compassionate. Of clinging to outmoded systems, habits and rhetoric; of being slow to act.

GETTING IT RIGHT

We are also seeing a lot of unlikely people take to the podium like never before. People with messages that need to be heard and amplified for our safety and our health. For years our confidence in institutions has been eroded and we have been turning away from big organisations and governments and traditional news outlets and increasingly rely on social media platforms and ‘real’ people we perceive to be telling us honest information from true experience. This is usually in the form of story. Stories with characters we identify with and events we have experienced and emotion that mirrors our own.

What do Countries with the best Coronavirus response have in common? Leaders who are Decisive Truthful Tech Savvy and Compassionate. Leaders who tell it like it is clearly with a fact = result best case vs worse case and delivering that message with clarity consistently with messages from the heart not sloganeering.

NOT GETTING IT

Leaders in the ‘powerful’ make (insert name of country) great again are like the big businesses and lobbyist that support them. They area desperate to hang on to power and maintain world order hence the ‘get back to…’ messages with no clear concise benefit or even plan to do so. The vague information. The conflicting rules. The elitist arrogance of those in positions of power. The need to ‘justify’ actions. Same storm but not the same boat.  Misinformation perhaps the deadliest of all. This kind of communication is insidious and leads people to believe they have no power. It makes leadership impossible and management the only possible solution. By keeping all the information exclusive it breeds confusion, fear and anger.

Management claims things are out of control. Heavy handed tactics are needed to ‘keep us safe’ and maintain ‘order’ for the good of all. A reaction not a response therefore not response-able. At this current tipping point in our global culture one thing is clear all the muddied messages about divisions, scarcity and who to trust have dissolved or been turned on their head. 

Top down leaders flapping and flailing using fear as their main message professing to save us. They excuse, blame, deny and distract. Reassuring us ‘everything is being done’ they are acting ‘for our own good’ as if we are victims or ignorant children. Ignorant only because we are given conflicting information or no information. These are tactics designed to retain power and position, not save lives or restore order. Their story has been falling apart as they make decisions in the spur of the moment and announcements off the cuff. This leads to confusion and misleading information being spread much like the virus they are trying to cure and the unrest they are trying to quell. 

STEPPING UP

People are not victims of crisis. People on the new front lines are managing the crisis and taking positions of leadership, speaking clearly, honestly from their hearts and from the heat of their anger on platforms online and off. From neighborhood apps to conversations in a socially distanced line while we respect each other’s space, sharing information, offering real help to neighbors and recognizing ourselves in each other. Modern-day heroes are those that delivery our purchases, work in minimum-wage jobs as cleaners, grocery store employees, hospital workers and of transportation drivers. 

We need hear the truth. We need some ground orientation. We need decisive supported action in word and deed by those we follow. We want to admire them to emulate them to come to a better understanding of ourselves though them. Most importantly we need to hear from different perspectives. We are listening to different factions of our society recognizing the similarities and the glaring difference of who we do not want to be identified with. We aligned with the purposeful soaking up the wisdom so we can do more than survive – we strive to thrive.

HOW IS A CLEAR MESSAGE COMMUNICATED?

Who are the winners in all this upheaval? How do you identify messages you can trust? What do they sound like? What do they look like, these message bearers? They rise up from likely and unlikely places. They come in all shapes and sizes and do all sorts of jobs. This is what they all have in common.

Competence is a clear winner. As is Decisive Action supporting individuals to adapt to meet needs. Compassion and acknowledgement of the feelings people are experiencing Preparedness is essential to have the systems and organisations in place to advise and act with the materials to do the job. Flexibility and Honesty. A willingness to turn things around and address what has been neglected. And…. Don’t leave out the facts!

In those countries that listened to the information on the COVID infection and understood it to be an inevitable reality they planned by building protection and policy and real support with concise directions and the means to apply them. They helped people before they fell off the cliff. They managed by objective not crisis.  

New Zealand, led by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, has been at the forefront of taking action to suffocate the virus. Ardern took the bold stance of not only implementing a strategy of suppression but one of total elimination of the coronavirus. Ardern was very quick to close borders and was one of the fastest leaders to move the country from first case to lockdown. The daily growth rate of the virus is estimated to be less than 1%.

In countries where the message was ignored warnings did not come from the head of state but from other concerned sources like medical professionals, journalists, community leaders gathering resources and batten down the hatches preparing for an inevitable storm. Epidemiologists and former public health officials say the U.K.’s strategy for combating COVID-19 was muddled—leading to delays in purchasing essential equipment and tests, mixed messages about public health practices, and a lag in implementing social distancing and other restrictions which likely allowed the virus to spread fast and undetected.

In the US Dr. Fauci, physician and immunologist who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, has been a voice of reason in the face of mismanaged response that relies on off the cuff unfounded remarks that pander to populist hoax theories instead of sound practical advice. Dr Fauci told the real story of what will happen when states reopen in a coronavirus Senate hearing. He has been honest even when the news has been dire calmly backing up his information with fact-based data and advice on next steps safely. Fauci said that this virus won't just disappear going on to realistically report the death toll is "almost certainly" higher than has been confirmed so far. Dr Fauci also confirmed vaccines are unlikely by this fall. This competent, realistic view engender trust and allow for effective forward planning..

Phillipe Cunningham is councilperson for the city of Minneapolis Ward 4 His argument for defunding the police is not new to activists, but it’s a shocking concept to many government organizations. Even though violent crime was decreasing in Minnesota, Mayor Jacob Frey proposed a $10 million funding increase for the local police department, bringing that department’s budget to $193 million — one of the largest line items in the city’s total budget. Affordable housing received only $31 million. And crime prevention? $400,000.

Cunningham’s reason for a lower-cost solution is — well, reasonable. According to Councilperson Cunningham, the proposed increase made no sense when paired with the city’s largest source of 911 police calls: domestic assaults. Defund the police —instead devote $50,000 for a domestic violence intervention program strategy for the community to implement.

Phillipe Cunningham remarks “There’s always political will to put more money into the police budget. We are not successfully getting to the root of these issues, so having a systemic institutionalized new approach to public safety that is community-led, that invests in communities with the prevention intervention as well as thinking big, even moving further upstream thinking about housing, jobs, employment, training, education, thinking about all of that — that is what true, comprehensive public safety is.

Killer Mike aka Michael Santiago Render American rapper, songwriter, actor, and activist gave clear direction as well as acknowledging the pain and frustration people were feeling. “There’s nothing wrong with having the anger and emotion and passion over-spill what we saw. Because that needs to happen to ignite. But now that you’re ignited, I need you on a weekly and daily basis to join a grassroots organisation wherever you are. I want the protesters to know, and even the rioters, because a lot of them are young people who are just frustrated, to know that we can do it differently in this city [Atlanta] I think Black America should treat Atlanta like a land where anything is possible for us, because it’s not perfect but anything has proven possible here. This is just a place where hope is possible in a way that it’s not in other places.”

HOW CAN YOU CLARIFY YOUR MESSAGE?

TELL THE TRUTH All have emerged as leaders in the face of crisis because they faced it. They acknowledged the dangers and followed it up with advice and evidence that is fact based. 

Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, stood up early and calmly told her countrymen that this was a serious virus that would infect up to 70% of the population. “It’s serious,” she said, “take it seriously.” Germany jumped right over the phases of denial, anger and disingenuousness we’ve seen elsewhere. Their early response and investment in PPE and test and trace technology have put them ahead of their European neighbors.

TELL THE WHOLE STORY 

Killer Mike cited as the wholistic example of how a sustained growth in cities works and why it doesn’t, “If you look at the ’60s and ’70s, black cities like Washington DC, Chicago, Detroit, even black parts of Los Angeles and Miami, they were prosperous, they were fruitful, hope happened there. And through things like redlining, not developing, those places a lot of those cities have fallen, and Atlanta for the last 50 years has managed to be a city that grows.” He then directed viewers to a number of organisations who are “doing the work on an everyday basis on the ground”

COMPASSION

Brené Brown talks about vulnerability and acknowledging the emotion of others without judging it as hysterical angry or wrong. “Vulnerability is the absolute heartbeat of innovation and creativity. There is zero innovation without vulnerability.” Generally, the empathy and care which all of the female leaders have communicated have encouraged a caring and cohesive spirit in their people. Today’s leadership demands that leaders establish an emotional connection with their followers, Killer Mike reaching out and expressing his anguish and anger at events gave him an emotional right to ask protesters to police each other through listening and self-responsibility. Put your people ahead of yourself.

VISIBILITY

Certainly, in the last weeks we have witnessed the very best and worst in humanity. Message clarity relies on people seeing YOU and seeing THEMSELVES in your message.

PURPOSE

Tell the story of possibility, the story of what could be, the vision you haven’t yet seen but want to create. It unites us in a common goal. Communicating clearly and simply a future we want to realise. By caring for people, telling the truth and empowering them with information and resources they will come up with solutions, bringing a united vision to life.

“Leadership requires two things: a vision of the world that does not yet exist and the ability to communicate it.” ― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

TAKE ACTION STEP: What are the Stories Told / Not Told

On a blank piece of paper and divide it into 4 squares. 

1)In the top left write the caption: THE STORY CURRENTLY TOLD

2)Below it THE STORY WE’RE NOT TELLING

3)Next to it  THE STORY OF ANXIETY (this is the story of fear)

4) In the top right box THE STORY OF POSSIBILITY (this is the story you could tell if it weren’t for fear. 

Now you have the stories, the next step is to find the common theme, form a question of inquiry, a lesson learned, or a truth discovered. Let me know how you get on!

Want to adapt this communication strategy? Get the Communication for Leadership 12-part series delivered straight to your inbox with activities you can apply right away. 

If you have questions jump on a call, I’m happy to help. 

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PS Look out for a workshop covering putting these and other article topics into practice 30th June

Stacia Keogh StoryPreZ