Another day, another tariff announcement.
How many times have you heard the expression, “throw out the playbook” in the past, say, two months? It’s the new, “let’s circle back on that later”. In fact, it’s probably just the evolution of the ‘circle back’ phrase. Circling back suggested that maybe something was worth revisiting once the dust settled a bit. Throwing out the playbook is another way of saying, “let’s not even pretend we can circle back on this dumpster fire.”
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem pounded this home for me last week. Stability is gold for a nation’s central bank. Even during the rollercoaster ride of post-COVID inflation, there was some semblance of ‘we got this’ to the bank’s messages.
And yet here’s what Mr. Macklem told corporate Calgary last Thursday:
“Since… February, the level and timing of tariffs have changed several times. And there remain too many unknowns to predict what happens next.” He goes on to say, “Several outcomes can all look plausible.”
In other words, “We’re throwing out the playbook.” Even so, the response to Mr. Macklem’s remarks was… unremarkable.
Other presidents and CEO’s would be forgiven for balking at the notion of standing in front of a room of stakeholders and saying, “I have no idea what tomorrow will bring.”
When your organization is doing some fundamental rethinking, here are some points to consider on communicating such a major shift:
Acknowledge reality: Maintain the confidence of your audience (internally and externally) by acknowledging the reality of a situation. The team at BoC knew it was important to acknowledge that the off-again, on-again trade war makes it impossible for even the bank’s wealth of expertise to predict what next quarter will look like. Doing otherwise at this point risks looking like the meme-darling of the Gulf War, the Iraqi Information Minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf.
Have a plan, even when you don’t have a “plan”: Mr. Macklem said he didn’t know what to expect or how to respond to it, but he also laid out a three-point approach on how they were going to monitor, analyze and respond to whatever tomorrow brings.
Communicate more often: Conventional advice to leaders is not to stand up in front of a room unless you have something substantive to say. You may not know what’s coming around the corner, but it’s important for your team, customers/clients and stakeholders to see you are still at the wheel and feeling your way through the fog of the trade war– like Mr. Macklem’s three-point plan.
Read the room: Use all the tools in your communications toolbox to connect with your specific audiences the right way. A speech or media statement might be effective for industry stakeholders and investors, but an all-staff email will not resonate with employees wondering if they’ll still have a job next month. Use more emotive channels and venues to connect with your teams to maintain trust and confidence. Lean on the whole executive or senior management team to reinforce the CEO message in smaller, more interactive gatherings.
Anchor your message to foundational principles: Reinforce how your new approach continues to reflect your vision, mission and values. Point to your North Star to ensure folks are seeing past the waves that are hammering your organization’s bow.
This is not easy advice to give a CEO whose success has been built on executing clear and ambitious plans. But it is the right advice if they want people to trust them and follow them. Sometimes it helps to have someone from the outside deliver difficult advice. If you and your team need support in plotting out a plan, please reach out.
-Al
findlayetal.ca
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