If an organization succeeds or fails at implementing strategic corporate initiatives, navigating a crisis, completing a merger, launching a new product line, or living up to the company’s vision, mission and values … the CEO is accountable.
Why? Because he or she owns the strategy. No, not just the business strategy – the messaging and communication strategy required to make it a success.
Sure, C-suite executive hold themselves accountable for strategy. However, what many executives have not acknowledged is … they own the story behind it.
In a recent article published by Wharton School of Business, communications expert Walter G. Montgomery said …
“CEOs commonly blame lousy communication when well-laid plans go awry. Yet, paradoxically, communications is an undervalued, lightly regarded discipline in the theory and practice of corporate leadership.”
Think about how much brain power and energy you and your C-suite put into shaping strategic business initiatives. Now think about the small amount of time (in comparison) you spend on the messaging and communication strategy in support of it. As a C-suite executive, you may not be the one to actually put words on paper (many do) – but you absolutely need to lead, shape and guide the messaging and communication strategy that is used to bring the strategy to life. Why? No one knows the business strategy like you do. No one knows the story behind it like you do. You need to be involved throughout the entire journey.
Montgomery went on to say, “Chief executives need to focus on communications as a management capability much more seriously than they typically do. They should lead a thorough rethinking of what communications does and should do, subsequently transforming it into the constructive force it can be.”
Modern CEOs are taking Montgomery’s advice. They know that if communication breaks down, business performance goes down. They realize that business strategies, when backed with the right messaging, deliver better results. Most important, modern CEOs know they have to own the process, because at the end of the day … success or failure lies on their shoulders.
Winning business strategies are driven by successful messaging and communication strategies. So, if you’re a CEO or C-suite executive, it’s time to redraw the boundaries around strategic communications in your business … placing yourself and members of your C-suite squarely in the middle of it.
