Leadership communication : how leaders communicate and how communicators lead in today's global enterprise

302 Pages·2014·2.05 MB·English

by  E. Bruce

THE BUSINESS Leadership Communication H Public Relations Collection
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Curriculum-oriented, born- B
My graduate students like this book’s real-world focus on public E
digital books for advanced relations as a strategic role in the C-suite. —Ron Culp, p rofessional RG Leadership
business students, written
director, Public Relations & Advertising graduate program,
by academic thought DePaul University; former Senior Vice President, Chief Com-
Communication
leaders who translate real- munication Offi cer, Sears
world business experience
Leadership in Communication is a cogent, bright, easily readable
into course readings and
defi nition of what corporate communicators do. More than that, it’s
How Leaders Communicate
reference materials for
an uncommonly careful look at how strategic communication defi nes,
students expecting to tackle drives, and creates value for a commercial enterprise—its employees,
management and leadership its owners, and those whom they serve. —James S. O’Rourke, IV, and How Communicators Lead
challenges during their PhD, Professor of Management, Mendoza College of Business,
professional careers. University of Notre Dame
The quality of leadership in any organization—business, in Today’s Global Enterprise
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social, military, and government—is enhanced or limited by the E
BY LIBRARIANS A
quality of its leadership communication. The authors assert D
(cid:127) Unlimited simultaneous that leader ship is given force by strategic communication that E
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usage produces results required in competitive conditions. For the S
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(cid:127) Unrestricted downloading professional in enterprise communication, this brings into I
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and printing focus two questions: What is the relevance of com munication C
(cid:127) Perpetual access for a in the leadership process of reaching best achievable outcomes O
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one-time fee (BAOs)? And, how does the primary communication professio-
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(cid:127) No platform or nal attain expert infl uence and success in a leadership position? U
maintenance fees This book provides insights and guidance on functioning at the N
(cid:127) Free MARC records highest levels of the corpo rate communications profession. IC
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(cid:127) No license to execute E. Bruce Harrison teaches business leadership communication TI E. Bruce Harrison
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The Digital Libraries are a at Georgetown University.  He holds the 2009 Distinguished N
Service Award from the Arthur W. Page Society; the 2001 Betsy
comprehensive, cost-eff ective Judith Mühlberg
Plank Distinguished Achievement Award from the University
way to deliver practical
of Alabama; and the Society of Professional Journalists’ Distin-
treatments of important
guished Service Award for his work on media freedom.
business issues to every
Judith Mühlberg holds a JD from Michigan State University,
student and faculty member.
and was recognized in 2012 as A&S Outstanding Alumna by
the University of Wyoming.  She is an adjunct professor at
Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and is an expe-
rienced leader in key fi elds of communication advocacy, in
For further information, a
aerospace, automotive, and in strategy execution consulting
free trial, or to order, contact:  with Fortune 500 companies.  She is also a member of the
[email protected] Arthur W. Page Society and Women Corporate Directors.
www.businessexpertpress.com/librarians Public Relations Collection
Don W. Stacks and Donald K. Wright, Editors
ISBN: 978-160649-808-8
Leadership
Communication

Leadership
Communication
How Leaders Communicate and
How Communicators Lead in
Today’s Global Enterprise
E. Bruce Harrison and Judith Mühlberg
Leadership Communication: How Leaders Communicate and How
Communicators Lead in Today’s Global Enterprise
Copyright © Business Expert Press, LLC, 2014.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other
except for brief quotations, not to exceed 400 words, without the prior
permission of the publisher.
First published in 2014 by
Business Expert Press, LLC
222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017
www.businessexpertpress.com
ISBN-13: 978-160649-808-8 (paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-160649-809-5 (e-book)
Business Expert Press Public Relations Collection
Collection ISSN: 2157-345X (print)
Collection ISSN: 2157-3476 (electronic)
Cover and interior design by Exeter Premedia Services Private Ltd.,
Chennai, India
First edition: 2014
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
To CCOs and future CCOs: Knowing that it’s about leading
and communicating, in the realization that you can’t do one
without the other.

Abstract
The quality of leadership in any organization—business, social, military,
and government—is enhanced or limited by the quality of its leadership
communication. The authors of this book, both of whom are experienced
in the practice and study of enterprise communication, assert that leader-
ship is given force by strategic communication that produces results required
in competitive conditions. For the professional in enterprise communication,
this brings into focus two questions: (1) What is the relevance of com-
munication in the leadership process of reaching best achievable outcomes
(BAOs)? and (2) How does the primary communication professional attain
expert influence and success in a leadership position? This book provides
insights and guidance on functioning at the highest levels of the corpo-
rate communications profession. This function by an individual identified
in many companies as the chief communication officer (CCO) has risen in
importance in free-enterprise economies, coincident with the evolution of
social media, journalism, data analytics, government engagement, change
management, and other factors shaping enterprise strategies and success.
The book examines the enterprise CCO at three levels: the communicator
rising toward, or newly positioned in responsibility for, enterprise commu-
nication; the CCO as a collaborator in leadership with others (chief execu-
tive and chief financial officer are examples of those with whom leadership
communication is structured and driven); and the developed, influential
communication chief dealing with missions, strategies, and the execution
of enterprise vision. A detailed guidance is given on information flow that
takes advantage of stakeholder perception management and the produc-
tive, enabled employee culture. Crisis communication in modern contexts
is explained, with emphasis on precrisis intelligence gathering through
social conversation analysis, and procedures for crisis communication man-
agement are drawn from cases provided by CCOs in author interviews and
lectures in the authors’ graduate classes at Georgetown University.
viii ABSTRACT
Keywords
advocacy, Arthur W. Page, best achievable outcomes, business pur-
pose, CCO, chief communication officer, chief executive officer,
collaboration, communication consulting, corporate character, corporate
communications, corporate governance, corporate reputation, crisis com-
munication, C-suite communication, culture change, employee value
proposition, enterprise culture, influence, information flow, leadership
communication skills, leadership presentation, leadership traits, leading
change, shared value deals, social media analysis, stakeholder perception
management, strategic communications, strategic leadership, strategy
execution, strategy implementation, transformational change, vision,
WIIFM, workplace motivation
Contents
Advance Quotes for Leadership in Communication ..................................xi
Preface ................................................................................................xiii
Part I The New Model CCO: Grasping the
Opportunity ...............................................................1
Chapter 1 What’s In It for You? ........................................................3
Chapter 2 Leadership Is Communication .......................................23
Chapter 3 Leadership Traits............................................................39
Chapter 4 How Communicators Lead in the C-Suite .....................53
Chapter 5 Influence: Replacing and Reasserting “Control” ............71
Part II The Influential CCO: Skills and Competence ...........89
Chapter 6 Listening: Where Communication Begins .....................91
Chapter 7 Culture: Understanding and Influencing .....................111
Chapter 8 CEO Letter: Leadership’s Cardinal
Communication ..........................................................133
Chapter 9 Language and Presentation ..........................................151
Chapter 10 Limits: Corporate Governance .....................................173
Part III The Working CCO: Leadership in Context .............181
Chapter 11 Crisis Basics: “Topic A Bad News” and the CCO ........183
Chapter 12 Crisis Communication Strategies and Execution .........201
Chapter 13 Pre-crisis Intelligence: SEC Risk Factors ......................223
Chapter 14 Sustainable Business Communication: Financial,
Social, and Civic ..........................................................233
Chapter 15 Continuing the Trustworthy Deal ................................251
References ...........................................................................................263
Index .................................................................................................277