What are you willing to be criticized for?
Thanks for reading Pluck! Today, we’re talking about finding the right words in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” communications world.
Two New York Times articles recently caught my eye:
Anyone Want to Be a College President? There Are (Many) Openings
These slightly snarky rhetorical questions capture a core dilemma facing leaders today. Heightened polarization has made it increasingly risky to stick your neck out in a public capacity, and individuals are shying away from leadership opportunities and stepping back from the mic because of it.
The communications profession as a whole is being called on to solve this problem. We’re tasked with coaxing anxious executives off the sidelines and delivering perfect sound bites that couldn’t possibly offend anyone.
There’s just one problem: these sound bites don’t exist.
From a communications perspective, we’re living in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” world. Speak up on an issue, and you’ll face criticism from those who disagree with you and those who think you’re not doing enough. Even if you stay silent, you risk scrutiny—from both sides—for not taking a side.
How do you chart a reasonable path forward in an unreasonable environment? This is the question keeping leaders and communications professionals up at night because it feels like there’s no good answer.
But there’s an alternative to fruitlessly searching for something to say that will leave you immune from criticism. It involves asking a new question:
What am I willing to be criticized for?
There’s freedom to be found in this interrogation. It offers a way through communications paralysis, accepting criticism as a given and instead focusing on what matters enough to make criticism worth it.
It shouldn’t be a lengthy list. You’re looking for the beliefs so intrinsic to you, you could never—would never—deny them. The ideas that burn so brightly inside you, you couldn’t hide them if you wanted to. The causes that are so close to you, you would defend them to your worst enemy and your best friend.
These are the foundational values you will never regret speaking up about—because they are worth everything to you.
Getting in touch with foundational values is powerful for individuals and organizations alike. It helps decisions come from a place of consistency and confidence, and it lets statements be made with clear eyes and a steely spine. This was most recently on display in Harvard University’s full-throated ownership of its new policy on university statements.
Communications professionals have an important role to play in making moments like this possible. We can ask executives what they’re willing to be criticized for. We can be the flame keepers for our organizations’ foundational values. We can be advocates for a new mindset about when and how to show up as leaders.
Because boy, do we need it—not only for the soul of our profession, but for the soul of public dialogue. We’ve ceded too much ground to provocateurs who traffic in ever more outrageous statements to gain attention and stoke division. We’ve let too many qualified people shun the spotlight of leadership for fear of misspeaking or making a wrong move. We’ve tolerated too many bland, say-nothing statements that disrespect the very real issues that need our thoughtful debate. We deserve better.
Pluck: A Newsletter for Fearless Communicators is produced by Justine Adelizzi, an award-winning speechwriter and communications leader. She is the founder of FEARLESScomms, a coaching and consulting firm dedicated to creating fearless communicators.
I also this exercise is a good way to home in on what differentiates organizations. Why should candidates work for you and not the other guy? Why should customers buy you and not the incumbent? Your strongest opinions—the ones you’re willing to be criticized for—are usually the reasons!