I got introduced to a CEO of a nonprofit last week that’s dealing with what could be an impending crisis. Now, the nonprofit hasn’t done anything wrong, but their affiliation with a national organization that’s in hot water has the CEO concerned.
At issue is whether he should be proactive in his conversations with customers, with board members, with employees and with stakeholders in addition to the media.
My answer to him was yes and no. I thought it was a good idea that he should take a proactive stance to his customers and shareholders and certainly communicate with employees that they were not involved. However, I didn’t think it was necessary to go to the media to explain that but instead be prepared to respond to reporters’ queries only if necessary.
Here’s the bottom line for organizations. If you’re dealing with something that may or may not bubble up to the surface, you can take what’s called a hybrid approach. You can be proactive to some audiences and wait for inbound inquiries for others. Either way, this scenario is a good example to get a second set of eyes and perspective on it.