Sharable version of Nick's article from Melcrum's Strategic Communication Management.

1. TRUST AND LEADERSHIP
BUILDING TRUST IN LEADERSHIP
W
e all know that the a “regular employee” jumped by 16
communication points [see Figure One, page 36]. THE 2012 EDELMAN TRUST BAROMETER
environment This development has massive The 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer is the 12th annual trust and
has undergone implications for the way CEOs and credibility survey.
a seismic shift employees are used as spokespeople The survey consisted of 20 minute online interviews conducted
over the last decade. Anyone for their organization. As if the public from 10 October to 30 November 2011. It sampled 25,000
and everyone is now capable of relations management of the BP general population respondents, with an oversample of 5,600
producing content through a Deepwater Horizon spill hadn’t already informed publics in two age groups (25–34 and 35–64) across
“cloverleaf” of traditional, social, told us, these findings clearly show that 25 countries.
hybrid and owned media. Every we can no longer rely only on the CEO More information can be found at www.edelmaneditions.
company is now a media business to be the face of the company.
According to the 2012 Edelman and every individual is now a So communicators must look for
com/2012/01/trust-barometer-2012/
publisher. new ways of connecting “regular ➲ www.edelmaneditions.com
Trust Barometer, regular rank- Edelman’s 2012 Trust Barometer employees” with the outside world
[see box, right] shows the – building employee trust so they
and-file employees now have acceleration of one trend that holds feel able to act as willing advocates
special significance for internal for their company when they speak
more credibility than chief communicators – the diminishing with customers, friends, family and
trust in leaders and those who neighbours.
executives. Nick Howard, have traditionally held power and But the traditional ways of
influence over others. communicating with employees are
Edelman’s Director of Employee This has partly been driven by simply not enough. Another crucial
events in the wider world – whether finding of the Trust Barometer
Engagement, explores what this it’s the inability of business leaders was that official company-issued
to tackle corruption and excess communication was distrusted by
means for Internal or the failure of political leaders employees at all levels. Only 29
to fix the economy or respond percent of executives and 21 percent
Communicators and their future to changing social tensions. It’s of employees trusted corporate
clear that “we” don’t trust “them” communication. This finding is a
capabilities and responsibilities. anymore. wake-up call to communicators to
This trend has also been driven re-evaluate the trustworthiness and
by the changing expectations of effectiveness of all communication
citizens (including your employees) activities – checking them for
who, through social media, are problems with relevancy of content,
driving a new model of governance effectiveness of format or delivery,
that’s more democratic – to or lack of opportunities for true
THINK TANK: RESEARCH, IDEAS AND paraphrase Abraham Lincoln: engagement.
OPINION INFLUENCING COMMUNICATION of the people, by the people and
AND THE WORKPLACE for the people. This makes it Building employees’ trust in leadership
increasingly difficult for leaders The starting point for any effort to
(including your CEO) to manage rebuild trust must begin with leaders
messages and build trust. themselves. They must be better
Nick Howard is Director of Employee engaged in the business and they must
Engagement at Edelman, the world’s largest PR
Agency with 4,400 people in 63 offices worldwide.
The importance of employee have the support they need to better
advocacy engage – and build trust – with their
Read this and learn
He has over 15 years’ experience advising business
leaders across Europe, North America and the In the 2012 Trust Barometer’s list employees. Developing an effective
UAE. Before joining Edelman, Howard was Retail of those whom people would trust leadership engagement program is
Communication Director for Lloyds Banking Group, as a source of information about quite possibly the top priority for
where he led the successful communication of ➤What competencies Internal Communicators need to
Europe’s biggest financial services integration – their company, CEOs fell by 12 every Internal Communication team.
points, the biggest decline in 12 Doing this successfully requires build trust.
Lloyds TSB and HBOS.
years. At the same time, trust in a clear understanding of who
© Melcrum Ltd. 2012
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2. TRUST AND LEADERSHIP
CSR AND IC
Figure One: Credible spokespeople – peers and regular employees see dramatic rise, while Figure Three: Global trust comparison – although not directly associated with
the credibility of CEOs and government officials plummets. [Adapted from original report trust in CEOs, we have included this graphic for those global organizations who
©Edelman, 2012.] your leaders are and how Of course, engaging leaders themselves wish to consider levels of trust among their regions. [Adapted from original report
you segment them into is only half the story. They also need to ©Edelman, 2012.]
appropriate populations. For be supported to build trust with their
2011 2012 example, the most senior employees. Given the findings of the 2011 2012
executive team who set the Trust Barometer, it’s clear that traditional GLOBAL 55 GLOBAL 51
Academic or expert 70% Academic or expert 68% strategy will benefit from a leadership communication channels, such Brazil 80 China 76
different approach to “next as newsletters and blogs, on their own are
Technical expert in the 64% Technical expert in the 66% UAE 78 UAE 73
company company level down” leaders whose simply not up to the task. The most effective
Indonesia 74 Singapore 67
A person like yourself role it may be to direct the channel for helping leaders build trust is
Financial industry analyst 53% 65% +22 China 73 India 65
day-to-day efforts of all other still face-to-face so communicators should
employees. help leaders by giving them simple tools Netherlands 73 Indonesia 63
CEO 50% Regular employee 50% +16
Through a program of and materials that make it easy for them to Mexico 69 Mexico 63
NGO representative Greatest
NGO representative 47% 50% face-to-face working sessions, facilitate discussions with their teams and Singapore 67 Netherlands 61
increase since
participative conference calls put broader company messages into context. Argentina 62 Canada 58
A person like yourself 43% Financial industry analyst 46% 2004 and dedicated leadership Many companies refer to this type of India 56 Italy 56
Government official or channels, leaders should support as “engagement in a box” – a toolkit Italy 56 Argentina 54
43% CEO 38% -12
regulator be given the “big picture” of messages and materials that leaders Canada 55 Australia 53
Regular employee Government official or 29% -14 for the company. This will receive on a regular basis to help them:
34% regulator South Korea 53 Brazil 51
broaden their perspective n Present consistent company messages
Biggest declines in Sweden 52 Sweden 49
and help them understand to employees through agreed wording
Barometer history the overall business, rather and talking points. Japan 51 U.S. 49
than just their own day-to-day n Share their own perspectives on those Australia 51 South Korea 44
Q119-126. [TRACKING] Below is a list of people. In general, when forming an opinion of a company, if you heard information about a company from each person,
how credible would the information be – extremely credible, very credible, somewhat credible, or not credible at all? (Top 2 Box, Credible: Very + Extremely responsibilities – both “lifting messages through credible storytelling Spain 51 Poland 44
Credible) Informed Publics ages 25-64 in 20 country global total (excludes Argentina, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and UAE). their heads” from their day techniques [see the box on the right]. France 50 U.K. 41
jobs and making it easier for n Stimulate discussion about ‘what these Poland 49 Ireland 41
them to see how their work messages mean to us’ by encouraging Germany 44 France 40
directly affects business team members to share their own U.S. 42 Germany 39
Figure Two: CEO credibility returns to low of 2009. [Adapted from original report ©Edelman, 2012.] goals. It will also allow them perspectives. U.K. 40 Spain 37
to provide input to important n Encourage decision-taking and action
Russia 40 Japan 34
business topics, helping them through interactive planning tools
100 Ireland 39 Russia 32
India China feel more involved in the based on game theory.
Japan USA business and providing the Composite score is an average of a country’s trust in all four institutions (Business, Government, Media, NGOs). Informed Publics ages
CEO with valuable feedback There are different ways of delivering these 25-64 in 20 country global total (excludes Argentina, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and UAE) and across 23 countries.
S. Korea UK/France/Germany
80 and insight. materials, such as Edelman’s own “Explain,
In too many organizations, Engage, Act” approach. But whatever the
leaders are treated in the specifics of the approach, the aim should always bring the two together to create employee
Percentage (%)
same way as every other be to make things as simple as possible for the ambassadors – people who talk about the
60 employee for communication leader, allowing them to role model winning company online in a quasi-official capacity.
purposes. How often has an behaviors and build empathy and trust. Similarly, the fall in CEO credibility [see
employee in your company Figure Two] makes it more important than
40 gone to their boss with a Helping leaders and employees build trust with ever to prepare employees to advocate on their
question about an important the outside world company’s behalf. Ambassador programs are
communication only to be Once you’ve established a strong rapport and nothing new, but encouraging employees to
told: “I don’t know… I’ve alignment internally, you can turn to empowering engage their online networks can exponentially
20 only just heard about this employees and leaders as external ambassadors, multiply their impact. And focusing on a
myself”? Timely “heads-up” connecting them better with the outside world. company’s own technical experts – who are
communication to leaders via What are practical next steps? Based on the regarded as particularly credible employees –
email, SMS text message or findings from the Trust Barometer, here are can further amplify efforts, especially during
0
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 a dedicated leaders intranet three immediate opportunities: a crisis. When a product’s quality or safety
site is a simple and essential comes into question, who better to address such
Year way of ensuring leaders hear 1. Empower your employees to be ambassadors via concerns than the people who designed it?
Q119-126. [A CEO of a company TRACKING] Below is a list of people. In general, when forming an opinion of a company, if you heard information about a about important business social media To successfully activate and nurture
company from each person, how credible would the information be – extremely credible, very credible, somewhat credible, or not credible at all? (Top 2 Box,
Credible: Very + Extremely Credible) Informed Publics ages 35-64 in the US, UK/France/Germany, China, India, Japan and South Korea
topics ahead of other With both employees and social media growing ambassador programs using social media, it’s
employees. in credibility, there’s a clear opportunity to critical to establish levels of certification within
© Melcrum Ltd. 2012
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3. TRUST AND LEADERSHIP
your organization to ensure that employees are capture customer stories and experiences and
social media-savvy and properly empowered in a then share those with the broader organization.
way that still respects boundaries. In addition to They can also increase the amount of input
certification, you should create a regular flow of generated by internal crowdsourcing of
information to your social media ambassadors innovative ideas, new products or new solutions
so they have sufficient content at their disposal based on customer feedback.
and the right channels to provide feedback to
leadership on particularly interesting actions or 3. Rebuild trust in the CEO through candid,
reactions that their discussions inspire online. meaningful dialogue
Yes, CEO credibility has decreased, but a
2. Engage employees in building customer company cannot survive or thrive without
relationships strong leadership. In a world where there are
Setting the global standard Leaders and regular employees alike point
to quality products/services and listening to
channels for every voice and cutting through
the communication clutter remains a challenge,
for Internal Communication customer needs/feedback as the top two attributes
that drive trust in a company. Since employees
many CEOs and other leaders would do well
to increase their connection to employees
heavily influence both, building a sense of shared in ways that play to their personal strengths.
ownership for the company’s products and There are a number of actions leaders can take
customer responsiveness can lend credibility to maintain and rebuild trust with employees,
Book your place today and join the long to improvement efforts. Moreover, looking such as communicating a clear and compelling
beyond just traditional, corporate-sponsored vision, taking a conversational tone of voice,
list of communicators who have already communication (and perhaps experimenting with encouraging a culture of storytelling, engaging
transformed their day-to-day working Accredi social media as one of several channels) may help managers and employees in candid dialogue
ta
now av tion
reach employees at all levels given the current about the business, and demonstrating
distrust in official company communication. transparency, especially in the face of
lives and accelerated their careers. ailable Companies can explore ways to put simple
processes in place that allow employees to
challenging issues.
“The most valuable training course for any internal HELPING LEADERS BUILD TRUST THROUGH STORYTELLING
communicator – should be a requirement for anyone who is
“Stories persuade people by uniting an idea with an emotion” – Robert McKee, Hollywood script doctor
responsible for Internal Comms.” Lloyds Banking Group “Why was Solomon recognized as the wisest man in the world? Because he knew more stories than anyone else” – Alan Kay, Walt Disney
Helping leaders be better at storytelling is a core part of helping them be better communicators so they connect with their employees to build trust. An effective leader is able to
“This course has been really valuable in helping redefine rephrase cold facts or complex messages into stories that resonate with employees’ emotions and experiences.
what Internal Comms actually is, its value and how to own it This doesn’t always come naturally to leaders so communicators may need to coach them. Here are three examples of the types of stories that leaders can use to build trust with their
as a function in your business. Really comprehensive and employees:
relevant.” Kelloggs n “Who I Am” stories
Team members sometimes make automatic judgments about who leaders are. A Who I Am story gives a powerful insight into what really motivates us and is useful for new
leaders who wish to connect with their team. Who I Am stories can break down barriers, build empathy and a connection – they help team members realize that the leader is “a
“It was ALL totally relevant and most useful.” Pfizer person” just like them. Sometimes a Who I Am story can be used by the leader to reveal some type of flaw about themself or a mistake that they’ve made... and learned from. This
www.melcrum.com/blackbelt shows the team that the leader trusts them with this information. Revealing flaws can also make the leader more approachable, because it demonstrates that they’re only human.
n Teaching stories
“Excellent session for reminding and reinforming ways we blackbelt@melcrum.com
It can be very hard to encourage people to follow without demonstrating. This is the domain of teaching stories. The story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” is a good example that
can do our jobs better and add value to our organization” EMEA: +44 (0)20 7357 8888 we all know from our childhood. This story alone has taught millions of us not to call for help unless there’s a real need for it. Although it’s simple, like most fables, it’s done an
Coca-Cola Enterprises effective job for centuries. Stories and metaphor are powerful in this way.
USA: +1 202 393 8960 n “Values in Action” stories
When you see the word “integrity”, what do you think of? Honesty? Doing the right thing for the right reason? Every value can mean something different from person to person. So
“Brilliant – I wish I had this training two years ago!” UN FAO Asia Pacific: +61 (0)2 9222 2810 when leaders want to pass on values to their people, they should start by defining what those values mean to them. So, if a leader wants their team to demonstrate a high level of
customer service, they might tell a story or share a real experience that reveals exactly what an excellent customer experience feels like to them.
One final point on storytelling – the stories that leaders share with employees must be real, and not made up. Communicators must help leaders identify these authentic personal
stories, not conjure them from thin air.
OVER 1,500 GRADUATES WORLDWIDE...
UK • Europe • USA • Canada • Australia • New Zealand • Asia • UAE • South Africa
© Melcrum Ltd. 2012
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