What Are the Leading Exec Comms Pros Thinking About as We Head Into Fall?

The monthly Zoom calls of the Executive Communication Council are confidential, but our folks were okay with me writing up this Chatham House-discreet list of issues ID’d on a recent call. Asked what they’re preparing to deal with over the next year, these exec comms pros mentioned the following, roughly in order of urgency / timeliness.

Exec comms pros, what are we missing?

1. The election. Leaders are encouraging employees to have respectful dialogue. Some CEOs are encouraging people to vote, while taking special care not to suggest who to vote for. That’s about the extent of it at this stage.
2. DE&I. “How we’re going to navigate it in this environment and in what language to make it without polarizing,” as one exec comms pro put it. Communication focus was significantly raised in 2020 in the wake of George Floyd, and the key now is to lower the profile in order “to continue that work without getting stuck in a political conversation” with “woke CEO” critics like Robby Starbuck, et al. One CEO comms team might use this moment to double down on the DE&I commitment; but only one, and they’re considering with caution.
3. Stances on taking stances: Does your company have one? Statements on making statements: Has your leader issued one?
4. Unionization. The Biden administration is “more pro-union than we’ve heard from White House in awhile,” and unions have gained a lot of ground over the last four years. One member said their employees “are not currently represented,” but the notion of unionization is a “top of mind issue” for both them and management.
5. Generative AI: What will be its impact on exec comms, corp comms and the workforce writ large?

And a whole host of issues that are more evergreen but shouldn’t be ignored: Climate. Sustainability and greenwashing. Cybersecurity and data privacy. And recent inklings that an economic downturn is in the offing and layoffs possibly to follow.

What issues would you add? And how do you and your leaders plan to tackle them?