In today’s uncertain times, organizations must increasingly weather and respond to disruptive and emotionally charged events. Whether triggered by political conflict, social unrest, geopolitical instability, or technological change, crises rarely produce a single shared interpretation among stakeholders, including leaders, employees, customers, and communities.
In such situations, effective communication is not a secondary concern—it is the strategic infrastructure through which leadership is enacted. When communication is delayed or incomplete, the effects of a crisis can be worsened.
A recent example comes from Minneapolis, where agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been deployed to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants. After two protestors were killed by ICE agents, the heads of more than 60 companies commented publicly in an open letter about the unfolding events. The leaders of Target, which is headquartered in Minneapolis, were among those who signed the letter.
However, days later, when Target’s new CEO sent his first message to employees, customers, and partners, he didn’t address the impact of ICE’s presence on the city’s population and the retail giant’s workforce. This failure to communicate on a key stakeholder issue triggered a backlash against the company.
Around the world, other organizations and their leaders are encountering crises that are affecting their stakeholders and strategies at breakneck speeds. Because of war in the Middle East, for instance, the global energy supply is being threatened as tankers avoid the Strait of Hormuz between Iran, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. Some banking and payment services provided by Amazon AWS went out after drones struck three Amazon data centers in the UAE.
Global trade wars and tariff impacts, fallout from the Epstein files, AI investment scares, and a volatile cryptocurrency market also have put companies on their heels. The CEO of Metaplanet, a Japanese cryptocurrency investment company, was pushed to publicly defend its communication practices after nontransparency allegations.
Unfortunately, most organizational leaders are not professionally trained in strategic communication beyond presenting and writing. As a result, in crisis situations, they lack the ability to communicate strategically and carefully in both internal and public contexts. To survive ongoing chaos and confusion, organizational leaders must quickly develop six core strategic communication skills.