What a difference a half-year makes

Blimey. If I didn’t have enough change and crisis communications experience six months ago, I’ve certainly added a few more strings to that particular bow.

I’d still like to remain fairly anonymous, so I won’t outline the details of said change and crisis comms onslaught, but suffice to say, the company has gone through some big moves recently.

We have a new CEO and a new direction after some pretty troubled times, but the biggest challenge at the moment is influencing stakeholders and managing those relationships, some of which previously existed and some of which are brand new.

The new CEO is the fourth one I’ve worked under at the company and is certainly the straightest talking of all before him. Throw out that book of business jargon and wash your mouth out of those hyperboles: he’s more about saying it like it is and being completely open and honest. It’s a breath of fresh air.

But since plans to change the business fundamentally have been underway and ready to launch for a few months – and under the previous CEO – getting the balance of old and new messages has been a juggling act to say the least; where messages around growth, improvement and investment have been seeded since the start of the year, the new CEO’s approach needs to be fused with those messages and the hyperbole needs to be softened to appeal to the CEO’s direct nature.

Influencing senior stakeholders when they’re champing at the bit to announce large-scale changes to their department while trying to build a relationship with their new boss is a tough gig. There’s an increased feeling of stress at a level where usually most people feel more relaxed about change, given their proximity to the fine detail, knowledge of job security and advanced position on the change curve.

This is where existing relationships come in most useful – I’d rather maintain existing than concentrate on building new relationships (ideally, of course, I’d do both simultaneously). Getting your classic stakeholders the attention and time can help to build the CEO relationship as they will start to go into bat for you on things you’ve supported them with.

As our CEO continues to communicate in his own way, I know I need to make sure the existing messages are still valid, albeit re-phrased.

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