A well-crafted crisis communications plan is essential for every organization. But most companies overlook a key component: ongoing executive communication.
That’s where executive branding comes in.
Executive branding isn’t just about building visibility for your leaders. It’s also about preparing them to lead with clarity, empathy, and humanity when it matters most.
By helping your leaders show up consistently in public forums, you’re doing more than strengthening their reputations. You’re giving them the tools and the confidence to communicate during a crisis.
Here’s how executive branding supports crisis readiness:
1. It Builds a Bank of Trust and Goodwill
When your executive team communicates consistently over time, they build trust with employees, customers, and stakeholders long before a crisis ever hits. They become recognizable. Relatable. Real.
Think of it like making regular deposits in an account labeled “public trust.” When things go sideways, people are more likely to give your organization the benefit of the doubt.
Because they already know and respect the leader behind the message.
2. It Gives Executives Practice Communicating with Empathy
It’s one thing to be handed a crisis script. It’s another thing entirely to speak with authenticity when the stakes are high.
Executives who regularly share their perspective – through LinkedIn posts, interviews, speeches, town halls, or employee emails – are already in the habit of speaking from the heart.
They’ve had practice showing vulnerability, celebrating others, and telling their story with conviction. That muscle memory pays off in high-pressure situations.
3. It Humanizes Your Leaders
Effective executive branding isn’t just about thought leadership. It’s about showing personality. Telling stories. Celebrating your team. Giving shout-outs to partners, vendors, even delivery drivers.
That kind of content might seem light. But it builds deep emotional equity with your audience.
And when a crisis hits, that humanity becomes your superpower.
Don’t Wait for a Crisis to StartExecutive Branding
Too often, executive communications are reactive. But the smartest communications leaders know that visibility, authenticity, and trust don’t happen overnight. They’re built through consistent, intentional messaging long before there’s a problem to solve.
If your team is too short-staffed or strapped for time to develop an executive branding strategy, I can help.
Get my free guide, “Executive Branding for Short-Staffed Teams” for practical ways to get started—even with limited resources.