AMA: Comms Cadence for CEOs and The Best Internal Comms Resources

What's a good internal communications cadence for a CEO? I'm used to a regular Comms cycle plus time sensitive but in a new role with no leadership Comms strategy in place. Thanks!

Great question! When establishing a CEO communications cadence from scratch, I think there are several key considerations to keep in mind.

First, consider how the overall flow of communications works across leadership. Are other members of the C-suite or business unit leaders effectively communicating key messages and listening to employees in their groups? If that's true, then the CEO being the bearer of information may be less critical, and you could set your cadence appropriately. If the information flow is less optimal or a work in progress, you might consider a greater flow of communications from the CEO. This is especially valuable if you have a CEO who's excited and ready to communicate – that voice can fill an important void if employees are ready to hear more from leadership.

Second, what's your CEO's personal communication style? For example, if you have a particularly engaging CEO who loves communicating and talking with employees, that could suggest a range of tactics from AMA-style town halls to site visits and opportunities where the CEO "walks the halls," the factory floor, and other spaces. This creates more direct contact with employees. That might also affect your formal communications – are emails and videos more in the CEO's own unscripted style versus a more formal approach?

If your CEO is less naturally engaging, you might prefer a more structured style. This could mean town halls where the CEO serves more as a convener, bringing in different voices from across the organization or asking questions in addition to providing a few thoughts. Email communications might be more formal, but how you format and deliver them becomes even more important. Reassure your CEO that they do not need to be a “super communicator” or inauthentic to make an impact.

I tend to think of more formal, structured communications styles having a slower cadence versus CEOs who have a more outgoing style, where the cadence may be less driven by a formal schedule owned by comms.

Third, think about how the people manager population factors into this strategy. It's one thing to develop all the topdown communications, but then you need to consider how those will be supported by people managers. There's tons of research showing that's where employees have the highest degree of trust and look for key information or support. As you develop the CEO's cadence, think through how messages filter down – how managers can support those communications while also helping to inform the CEO's messaging. Especially if you are filling a leadership comms void, a slower pace until the manager connection gets up to speed may make sense. There's both a messaging and a listening component to consider here.

Finally, think through how you and others might support alignment on messaging and cadence. This might be a great conversation to have with your CEO. You may be in a situation where you provide other leaders "more context than control." As other members of the C-suite or leadership team communicate, they should be aligned with the CEO's messaging, but you're likely not in a position where you can literally write or manage every leadership member's communications – that's probably not possible.

What might this look like in practice? It could be a mix of having some key messages per quarter or over a set period of time that you want to emphasize, providing leaders with examples, tools, and templates to carry the message effectively in their own forums, while also encouraging their authentic individual voices. Just as you're assessing the communication style of your CEO, you'll have a variety of styles across the leadership team. Try to provide tools and support that help them stay aligned but also carry the message in their own way that feels authentic to their audience and group. All of this could affect your rhythm of communications…alignment can be a tough thing to create, but comms without alignment tend to fall short of expectations.

Establishing a thoughtful rhythm with these elements in mind will help you create a cadence that feels authentic while meeting your organization's needs.

Good luck!

What are internal comms live and virtual resources (e.g., associations, newsletters, etc.) that help grow your network and/or knowledge base?

There is a lot out there…it’s almost overwhelming. So I’m going to keep this short and simple so that you only get the “best of” versus everything under the sun.

First, Alyssa Towns has an outstanding list of resources for internal communicators that is worth checking out.

Second, many comms pros speak highly of the IABC and their annual conference, so I would suggest that as well.