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Push the Boss out in Public When There Is a Purpose

The art of storytelling has historical roots that go back centuries. The earliest forms of storytelling were primarily verbal expressions combined with gestures. It is an art form that lives today and relates to the practical and purposeful use of the narrative.

From a business standpoint it is essential to tell your story. It is used to interpret the past or present and shape the future. It is used to manage conflict and to resolve difficult issues facing an organization. It plays an important role in the reasoning process.

Taught today in university classrooms, storytelling prepares young people for what lies ahead in the marketplace of ideas. For a professional in today’s world, storytelling is an incredibly important tool that must be learned and practiced.

As a communicator, telling my organization’s story was second nature for me. However, for some people I advised that was not always the case.

I recall being assigned as a public affairs advisor to the secretary of the army and the army chief of staff, the senior civilian and uniformed officials, respectively, of my service. My position had been created because neither was very active in telling the army’s story and they needed a push. I began asking them to give speeches and engage in press interviews to tell stakeholders about the issues of the day.

To create a comfort zone for them, I decided to develop what I called an Issues Book. Seeking the help of a three-star general, the director of the army staff, I drafted a memorandum that he signed and that then went out to the entire army staff. Essentially it directed subject-matter experts to create one-page papers describing various issues that were or could potentially be in the news. That included operational matters, types of equipment being tested, personnel issues, and legal affairs: hot-button topics of the day. With the staff’s help I kept the Issues Book current.

For the secretary and the chief of staff, this book became like a Linus blanket. I would routinely update the contents in advance of every event I proposed. I made sure they had it in hand the Friday before the designated activity, whether it was a speech or a press interview, so that they had the weekend to review the contents. They came to expect it, and it served as a form of encouragement to do more.

Because not all news is good news, they were prepared for any issue, positive or negative. In fact, with large organizations or institutions lots can go wrong. Army General John Vessey, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, used to say that with as many people as there are in the armed forces of the United States, somewhere and at any point in time someone was acting improperly or something bad could be happening.

Rather than hiding from such things, leaders must step up to the plate and admit wrongdoing or malfunction. It’s not cause for embarrassment as much as it is an indication of the need for a full-disclosure admission. The adage “bad news does not get any better with age” is surely true. However, if the story is positive, even spectacular, shout it from the rafters. It not only builds the brand, it is simply good for business.

Not all bosses are going to buy into this philosophy. In fact, the twelfth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell, wanted nothing to do with all my proposals to be the public face and voice of the armed forces when he first assumed the position. I continued to ask him to participate in public events; he continued to decline the offers. It was an extremely frustrating period for me. A cautious man, the general was simply getting his sea legs as the senior uniformed officer in the U.S. Armed Forces. Finally, two months after he took office, he accepted an invitation to speak at Kansas State University. It went extremely well. His confidence level rose; my spirits soared.

Success begets success, but it doesn’t come without the support required. If I ever asked the chairman to commit to something publicly, I would always provide him information on the event, the personalities involved, the audience he would be speaking to, and the desired story line. If it was a speech that had a Q and A session afterward, I would provide possible questions related to the subject. If it was an interview with a reporter, I would provide him not just anticipated questions but proposed answers. Preparation on my part and familiarity on his part was the order of the day.

I was very fortunate that over time the more I asked of him, the more he did. I kept the numbers during his four years as chairman. From October 1989 until September 1993, he participated in 408 public events. They included congressional hearings, speeches before public forums, and talks to visiting groups. In the case of press events, there were 257 occasions when he engaged with the media. These included press conferences, media availabilities, and one-on-one interviews. In the aggregate, 665 times he told the story of the Armed Forces of the United States to various stakeholders.

You may not have the luxury of having a Colin Powell as your boss, and that’s fine. That doesn’t mean your boss shouldn’t be out in public telling the organization’s story or speaking on behalf of the organization. If you want your brand to shine, you need to polish it by putting the boss out in public when there is a purpose.