𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿. 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱.

One of the hardest leadership lessons I’ve learnt had nothing to do with writing the perfect message. It came from seeing a clear, carefully considered message land badly inside an organisation.

That experience taught me this: in change and crisis, the message is only part of the work.

At the time, I thought the hardest part was making the decision.
It wasn’t.
The hardest part came 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳.

I believed the messages were as clear and empathetic as I knew how to make them. I had thought carefully about the wording. I had tried to balance honesty with care.

It 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 landed badly.

For many people, it felt like the rug had been pulled from under them.
Because the issue is often not just the message. It is the readiness of the people expected to carry it.

Too often, organisations focus on getting to a tidy narrative and a polished set of messages. But what sits between leadership intent and organisational trust is the layer in the middle.

And that layer cannot be treated as a ‘delivery mechanism’.

They are the people who have to answer the questions. Hold the tension. Face the emotion in the room. Represent leadership, while often being affected by the decision themselves.

That means they need more than briefing. They need:
• clarity on what the organisation is really saying
• language they can stand behind
• space to process what it means for them personally
• and accountability for how they show up once the message goes live
Looking back, that is what I underestimated.

Not the message itself. But the human and organisational burden of carrying it.

Being part of a process is not the same as being ready to hold the line when the moment becomes real.

And when that readiness is missing, even clear messages can fracture on contact.

That, to me, is where so many leadership and crisis communications fail.
Not because the wording is wrong. But because organisations treat communication as a message-delivery exercise, instead of a process of shared leadership, through critical layers of the organisation.

The lesson I took from that period was this: If you want a difficult message to land with credibility, you don’t simply prepare the message—you must also prepare the people who will have to carry it.

That is leadership work. Not just comms work.

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 — 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁. 𝗡𝗮𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗮 𝗜𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 | 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝘁