Leadership Amid A Changing and Chaotic World.
Leading in the Modern-day Public Square
Leading an organization today means engaging stakeholders in a time of unprecedented politicization and transparency. Everything is political. Everything is public. Leaders face an ongoing collision of business and public interests, often around policy or regulatory issues, but also on social issues, from the workplace to climate, data privacy, reproductive health, gender and sexual identity, democracy and racial justice. The risks will most certainly be heightened in this election year.
Today’s public square is bigger and broader than ever before. It’s everyplace where people weigh in on what they believe and how they act — not just as consumers, but at political rallies, town halls, sports events, in coffee shops, behind closed doors at the office and on the online platforms that welcome their comments and posts.
The public square is crowded, cluttered and frequently uncivil. It promotes the most extreme views of advocates on the left and right, who talk past each other or only with the inhabitants of their closed echo-chambers. The public square is also rife with misinformation and disinformation — driven by a small number of real influencers with political and personal agendas. Or by fictional characters made up to resemble real people by foreign or domestic actors. And with a rise in the use of artificial intelligence, it is increasingly difficult to discern fabrication from reality.
Against this backdrop, leaders are under greater pressure to speak out and take a stand, particularly when it comes to Gen Z employees and consumers. Whether your position is big or small, bold or modest, you are going to upset people. The key is to balance the competing demands of your stakeholders, assessing and understanding the risks and rewards that come with your communications. And making sure your action aligns with your expressed values.
Leading in the modern-day public square means communicating your views clearly and consistently. And preparing for the incoming arrows that are sure to come.
To read the full report, click here: Powell-Tate-Leading-at-the-Intersections-2024.pdf (powelltate.com)
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About Weber Shandwick Public Affairs
Weber Shandwick is a global in-culture communications agency built to make brave ideas connect with people. The agency is led by world-class strategic and creative thinkers and activators and has won some of the most prestigious awards in the industry. Weber Shandwick was named to Ad Age’s A-List in 2020 and Best Places to Work in 2019. Weber Shandwick was also awarded PR Agency of the Year by Campaign US in 2021, honored as PRovoke’s Global Agency of the Decade in 2020 and PRWeek’s Global Agency of the Year in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. The firm has earned more than 135 Lions at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, including 36 Lions in 2021 to become the most-awarded PR agency. Weber Shandwick also received Honorable Mention (and the only PR agency) on the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Global Marketing Agencies in 2021.
Weber Shandwick is part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) and is the anchor agency within The Weber Shandwick Collective — a communications and consulting network built for the convergence of society, media, policy and technology.
For more information, visit: https://www.webershandwick.com/expertise/public-affairs/
Powell Tate is the Public Affairs Unit of the Weber Shandwick Collective. For more information, visit: www.powelltate.com
