As the CEO, should I speak out on social issues?
One of the most difficult aspects of a CEO’s job today is figuring out when and how you should publicly comment on social issues.
There are CEOs who prefer to speak out only on issues that feel ‘safe’, for example. mental health, Covid-19 restrictions, remote working, climate change.
Taking this a step further, without a second of hesitation, some CEOs are more than willing to speak out against issues that might have a detrimental effect on revenue or prevent access to territories and new market. Typically, CEOs are willing to speak publicly, vigorously and sometimes aggressively to lobby politicians to sway legislation and government edicts. Yet there is reticence towards speaking out on social issues, particularly if those social issues are deemed ‘controversial’.
But expectations have changed, and the question has become not so much if you should speak out, but when.
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“It’s a bloody minefield"
Recent public repercussions for CEOs who have fallen foul of saying the wrong thing, coupled with a fear of ‘cancel culture’ and potential impact on brands and reputation, means too much time and energy is spent on debating whether or not you should speak out, and not enough to the macro state of society, it’s impact on corporations and therefore, what intentionally and authentic commentary looks and feels like.
Particularly in an age where there is a growing expectation that you should have something to say about social issues.
Earlier this year, JUST Capital’s annual survey concluded that the American public believe, ‘CEOS have a role to play in influencing lawmakers regarding social and economic policy, in that the US general public look for corporate leaders to take on issues ‘above and beyond business operations’, and that there is an expectation for CEOs to speak out on pressing social issues, including inequality, racial inequity and threats to democracy.
The expectations stated within the report are not confined to those of one nation. The EYQ also reports that globally, ‘investors and boards expect CEOs to respond to humanity’s greatest challenges.’
However, if you ask a CEO, you may get a different response. According to a recent annual survey of Fortune 500 CEOs, they share diverging opinions
50% said CEOs have a responsibility to speak out on important social and political issues and should continue to do so.
50% believe CEOs have recently gotten too involved in commenting on social and political issues and need to pull back.
Where would you sit?
The world is changing and so must we
The issue of when to speak up is also one of cultural differences. In the US, CEOs of large corporations are much more likely to be public in their views, whereas in the UK, we are more reticent and even within FTSE 100/250 companies, a ‘scripted statement’ approach is more common than an authentic viewpoint.
Or, we prefer to show our ‘solidarity’ through corporate social media, a technique that risks trivialising serious issues to hashtags, Black squares and raised fists.
If this is your ‘style’, note that Harvard Business School’s recent case report on the Tulsa Massacre concluded with. the report’s lead, Professor Mihir Desai the , Mizuho Financial Group Professor of Finance at Harvard Business School and a Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, stating
it was important to equip tomorrow’s leaders with the tools to become more ‘fluent’ in public debate over government reparations and consider the role of business in addressing racial-justice issues.
“If you are a business leader, you will be asked to speak on a wide variety of deeply political and socially oriented questions, including matters of race and racial injustice.” Prof. Desai
Prepare for the when, not if
Corporate leaders make mistakes when they are too reactionary in their responses. When they lack frameworks and/or haven’t had critical conversations, from a corporate governance perspective, on outlining the social, political and economic issues they are more or less likely to engage with, and why.
In the UK for example, many brands took to social media to tweet or post their support of Black Lives Matter. Then nine months later, when the UK government concluded their Race Disparities Report and denied that Britain had an institutional racism problem, many organisations stayed silent, both internally and externally.
Yet when the Derek Chauvain trial was concluded, brands quickly took to social media to proclaim it was a win for racism (or other variations) immediately drawing criticism for being performative, tone deaf and lazy considering the lack of action taken by both corporations and institutions to address racism and inequalities since George Floyd’s murder.
It’s the lack of framework, of conscious decision making, of understanding racism that increases the odds of organisations putting a costly ‘foot’ wrong.
And avoiding issues that deeply affect your colleagues, customers and community erodes trust and credibility, particularly if you are known to be vocal in other ‘less contentious’ issues.
The way forward
Be clear on the issues you are most likely to engage with.
Broadly speaking, you should think about issues that impact your company values, your employees and/or your customers
Critically evaluate your performance.
The last year or so has given you plenty of examples to run hypothetical situations and critically evaluate your response or lack thereof
to social, political or economic issues that arose. Treating this as a corporate governance issue, seize it as an opportunity to take a more intentional and consistent approach with how you engage with social issues going forward.
Find out how all of your stakeholders feel about certain issues.
Whilst it may feel time-consuming and possibly overkill, this insight will give you an idea about what matters to those in your ecosystem. So, when you do speak out, their reaction does not surprise you and your reaction does not surprise them.
Communicate your stance and approach to your colleagues in advance.
Don’t be like the founders of Basecamp who announced their approach via a public blog. Colleagues need context and if you want to help them understand your decision-making process, they are more likely to support and/or offer you critical insights that may help you avoid making public missteps.
Test your messages and approach with people you trust and who can give you a different viewpoint.
If your executive board, and by extension your external PR support, looks the same as you, it increases the chances of you making a misstep, particularly in the arena of racism and racial equity.
Give your teams and key stakeholders a heads up.
No one likes to be caught unawares, and building a culture of trust and responsibility is a means to respect the individuals who may be impacted by what you say, or don’t say.
“This is not about playing politics or prioritizing social activism over making money. It’s about building stronger, better businesses that give ordinary hard-working people the opportunities they deserve, that sustain our sense of community, that restores faith and trust in markets, and that ultimately provides a path to upwards economic mobility that, right now, feels out of reach for so many.” –
Martin Whitaker, CEO, JUST Capital