Building Your Voice: Communications Strategies for New Executives

I recently presented to a group of community foundation leaders and — noting the number of new faces in the room — asked those who had moved into their roles in the past three years to stand up.
 
Nearly half of the people in the audience rose to their feet.
 
While this is just one anecdote, it speaks to a larger trend — one that is playing out in foundations and nonprofits across the U.S.
 
Philanthropy is experiencing a significant changing of the guard, as a generation of long-term leaders exits to retirement and a new group of executives take the helm. Philanthropy Southeast — a membership organization of foundations in 11 states and Puerto Rico —recently surveyed its members and found that nearly 1 in 4 have hired a new top executive in the past two years.
 
And we can expect more changes to come.
 
This transition is good for the field. But it can also bring challenges — especially when it comes to messaging and communications.
 
To succeed in their roles, new leaders must quickly be able to communicate both internally and externally about their vision. Communications teams, meanwhile, need to adjust to the goals and style of a new top executive.
 
We’ve helped a number of leaders and their communications teams navigate this transition and have insights on how to position new leaders.
 
Here’s what we’ve learned:
 
Understand and Articulate Your "Why"
 
One of the best ways to develop an authentic voice is to spend some time thinking about why you do what you do.
 
You can do that by thinking back to some of the formative life lessons that have helped form your philosophy — and by recalling why you began working in your field.
 
When we work with leaders, we find opportunities to explore their “why” — and help them workshop how to talk about it comfortably and authentically.
 
Some are more open than others. But even those who are uncomfortable with going too deep into their personal stories can often find ways to talk about their “why” that feel right for their personalities and goals.
 
Connect Your Why to Your Work
 
Once you’ve identified your "why", it’s important to connect it to the mission of the organization.
 
In one case, we were able to weave the story about a new executive’s childhood home — and the opportunities that opened up for her family as a result of owning that home — to a foundation’s mission of working in affordable housing.
 
Another leader tied her family’s journey — a journey that started with being enslaved — to her life’s goal of advancing equity.
 
When a leader can connect their personal story and motivation with their new organization’s work, they can quickly build credibility and connection with their team, donors, and external partners.
 
Capture Opportunities to Tell Your Story
 
Once you’ve made these connections, don’t be bashful about sharing them.
 
You can share this personal story across multiple channels — including your email communications, website and social media — as well as in interviews with the media, in speeches and in personal communications.
 
Mendi Blue Paca, recently promoted to president and CEO of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, has set the stage for her foundation’s work supporting systems change in its Connecticut community by authoring a monthly email message and blog that draws heavily from her personal story and connects it to the foundation’s work.
 
Mendi’s essays draw on lessons from her family and professional career to show why this work matters — and with our help, she is carrying these stories into speeches, media interviews and opinion pieces.
 
Similarly, Amy Freitag, the new president of The New York Community Trust, weaves in anecdotes from her career to outline a vision for The Trust that connects its distinguished history to its future.
 
More Resources
 
You can take a deeper dive into how to effectively communicate before, during and after a new leader is hired in a piece I recently co-authored with Vincent Robinson, founder of the 360 Group, in Philanthropy News Digest.
 
Vincent and I describe how communicators can set their new leaders up for success — and make a great first impression with their new bosses in the process.
 
And our team at Turn Two is available to provide guidance and support — both during a leadership transition and after a new leader is on board.
 
I invite you to reach out to me for a consultation to identify opportunities and learn how we can help connect your why to your organization’s mission and story.

Peter Panepento
Managing Partner
Peter@turn-two.co