CEOs behaving badly: What comms can do when leaders step in it

Covering your bases both internally and externally.

When Astronomer CEO Andy Byron sparked what is now referred to as Coldplaygate, his public humiliation wasn’t the only byproduct of the moment. The organization he led was thrust into the spotlight, catapulted by the speed of internet speculation, memes and fake statements. But Astronomer didn’t respond until late the next day, a Friday afternoon. By then, the damage had been done.

In the wake of an embarrassing incident, it may feel like the world is spinning out of control. But don’t tailspin into missteps that damage your organization’s reputation or leave your employees with lingering questions. Take a breath, focus and act with intention to mitigate the fallout, both within and outside your organization.

You must do this quickly, strategically and with clarity, said Jon Goldberg, founder and chief reputation architect at Reputation Architects.

“You have to be fast, you have to be clear and you have to be definitive and unambiguous in your response to what is happening,” he said. “Delays in addressing a crisis can create a vacuum filled with misinformation and speculation. We saw with the Astronomer situation what happens when you delay…you leave that vacuum to form, fueled by misinformation, satire and false statements.”

Be timely in responding

Timing is crucial in crisis communications. There’s something known as “the golden hour,” Goldberg said. This is the window after an incident where an organization must say something. It should never be more than a few hours following the event.

“If you can’t make a clear, crisp statement within an hour or two that says, ‘We are aware of this, we take it seriously and we’re addressing the matter,’ then you’re already behind,” he said.

This approach not only demonstrates accountability, but it reassures stakeholders that the organization is working to right the wrong, lending more time to focus on recovery. After all, the clearer you are from the outset, the less you will have to rebuild, Goldberg said.

Reiterate your values

A company isn’t responsible for individual actions, and it certainly can’t control what people do when they’re not at work, but understanding how an action could still reflect poorly, the organization needs to reaffirm its core values in its crisis response.

“You have to tell (stakeholders) the conduct was not okay,” Goldberg said. “Tell them the action violates your conduct policy.”

When adding this to your statement, think about what you would want to hear, believe and expect, Goldberg said.

“Ultimately, responding to a crisis is about meeting your stakeholders’ expectations,” he added.

The internal implications

While much of the blowback for Coldplaygate has focused on the external impacts, it’s worth considering what companies should do when their leaders are caught in an embarrassing situation. There are employees that deserve communication — they didn’t ask for their company to be in the spotlight, after all.

Dr. Kerry O’Grady, professor of business communications and marketing management at UMass Amherst, told Ragan that communications need to work in close collaboration with their colleagues in HR and legal to ensure they’re getting the employee-centric messaging right and covering all their bases.

“Communicators know communications — and that’s great, but they aren’t necessarily well versed in legal,” O’Grady said. “We need all the right brains in the room to ensure the statement and subsequent communications meet a variety of criteria. Not only that, but we want all departments to support each other throughout this process.”

O’Grady added that moments of crisis aren’t the time for internal communicators to experiment with channels. Use what works and what’s going to get to the most people — and quickly.

“You want to reach the most people in the place they naturally gravitate to and where the message will resonate the most,” she said. “Internal communicators should prioritize the benefits and detriments with each medium — anything in writing lives forever and broadcast will amplify body language scrutiny.”

While Byron stepped aside from his leadership role not long after the scandal broke, comms pros need to consider what might happen if a leader attempts to wriggle their way out of the situation and stay in place — often at the cost of internal culture and morale.

Megan Weekes, chief marketing officer at Speekes said that internal communicators need to do their best to focus on their main audience — the employees — despite the potential chaos swirling around them. Keeping that aim can help focus communications efforts and bring the internal temperature down a bit. People are ultimately worried about their career paths and paycheck, and internal communicators can serve as reassurance to this end.

“Remain steadfast to the long-term goal of protecting the reputation of the organization and the integrity of the employees,” she said. “Don’t get swayed into the circus, but rise above it as best you can.”

Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter at Ragan Communications and PR Daily. 

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.

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