Page 25 - Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders

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Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the
gift of oratory.
Winston Churchill

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP

COMMUNICATIONS?

HE COMPANY IS A BONA FIDE SUCCESS. Its stock price is climbing. Market
analysts are praising the management team. Morale is high. For a
T brief, shining moment, it seems that the company can do no wrong.
Then it all comes apart. Perhaps it’s a new product failure, a defection of
a senior leader to a competitor, or a market reversal, but suddenly the only
people calling on the company are members of the media looking to find out
what went wrong.
When this happens, and it seems to happen in the cycle of any successful
enterprise, the company’s leaders have two choices when it comes to commu-
nications: They can say nothing and hope the story just goes away, or they can
speak out and work out their issues with input from key stakeholders.
Invariably companies make the wrong choice—in the face of bad news,
they hibernate rather than proclaim. Worse, senior managers huddle quietly

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