PR and (geo)politics: year-end thoughts on headlines and trends to watch

Maria Ressa, Nobel Prize-winning Filipino journalist: “Without facts, you can’t have truth. Without truth, you can’t have trust. Without trust, we have no shared reality, no democracy, and it becomes impossible to deal with our world’s existential problems.”

Written by Natalia Smalyuk

Diving into this holiday blog, with a winter storm raging outside, I told myself: no politics. My job is communication. That’s what I should be focusing on. But, alas. In the biggest headlines and twists of 2022, the lines between communication and (geo)politics blur.

Trapped in this dynamic, I decided to face it head on in this humble take on where we, communicators, make a difference in a struggling world. Of course, it reflects my personal truths (and blind spots) as a Belarusian Canadian feeling deeply about some issues in the world and learning about others.

THE BIGGEST STORIES OF 2022

2022 would make George Orwell laugh.

In the dark chilly days of last January, we woke up with a hope that economies will bounce back from the pandemic. Societies will settle into some sort of (new) normalcy. 

Weeks after the first anniversary of the deadly U.S. Capitol attack, we saw the convoy protest.

Hours after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lifted the state of emergency to clear Ottawa’s streets, Russia invaded Ukraine.

Since then, we live to the drumbeat of war.

In Canada, it’s hard to get any real sense of the suffering in Ukraine, but TV and social media make it feel like it’s next door. Sirens wailing. Hospitals bombed. Homes crumbling down.

As I drink my warm coffee by a brightly lit Christmas tree, Russian missiles pummel Ukraine’s power stations in freezing temperatures.

Somehow, the phrase “Never again” lost its meaning.

We used to hear about nuclear weapons in the context of non-proliferation. Somewhere far, in countries like North Korea. All of a sudden, nuclear confrontation is a real possibility. Close to home.

And then there are the economics of war. Energy shortages. Soaring food prices. Inflation shooting up.  Earnings lagging behind.

At the latest Muse concert in Toronto, I heard their song “We are fucking fucked.” Moving to its rhythm by the stage, a can of beer in my hand, I thought: yes. This pretty much sums it up.

But this blog is not an exercise in dispensing more gloom and doom. Quite the opposite. I look for stories that bring hope and gratitude. They are plenty, and here are just a few.   

THE MOST INSPIRING STORIES OF 2022

I’ll start with my favourite. After a decades-long struggle, the European Union granted candidacy status to Ukraine. This move is mostly symbolical. Yet, it puts the country on a certain trajectory. This is big news.

In 2022, we celebrated the legacy of Mikhail Gorbachev, who died at the age of 91. For many East Europeans like myself, coming of age in the early nineties, the fall of the Berlin Wall shaped our political identity.

Gorbachev insisted on “the sovereign right of each people to choose their own social system at their own discretion.” A novel claim in the world where anti-communist and pro-democracy movements were crashed with tanks. Gorbachev offered a different set of values. Human rights over brute force.

For many of us, the collapse of the Soviet Union marked a deep renewal. I know how I felt. The world is my oyster, ready to open up. Individuals and nations are not pawns in someone’s geopolitical game. We have agency.

Incredibly, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the same event “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.”

His authoritarian and, ultimately, self-annihilating logic has become a token for Russia. The hate he has let out will take decades to undo. To me, that’s a true catastrophe, for his nation and the world.     

I am inspired by the Russians who go against this logic, even when it’s impossibly hard.  

Dmitry Muratov, the editor-in-chief of an independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, auctioned off his Nobel Peace Prize to raise money for Ukrainian child refugees. It sold for $103.5 million.

As a communicator, I am inspired by smart global campaigns. In one of them, guests from around the world booked Ukrainian Airbnb’s with no intention of travelling to support local residents.

Finally, I am inspired by the tremendous scientific breakthroughs.

Journalists called the successful fusion reaction announced in December the “holy grail” of clean energy it can generate one day.

When early images of the James Webb Space Telescope showed the distant reaches of the universe, an operations project scientist Jane Rigby was quoted talking about “people in a broken world managing to do something right.”

These stories offer a glimpse into what to pay attention to in the new year.

FIVE TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2023

#1. Reputational risk assessments are at the top of leadership agendas.

When the war in Ukraine broke, a colleague whose organization had an office in Moscow called to talk about their communication strategy. Their overriding concern was the well-being of their Russian employees. Many, she said, were against the war. Some had family in Ukraine. We weighed the reputational risks of ‘business as usual’ in a country that quickly became an international pariah. Category leaders, from Apple to Shell to Visa to KPMG, were pulling out. The outpouring of business from Russia showed the immense complexity of communication in a global disaster where stakeholder expectations shift extremely quickly. These scenarios are not in crisis playbooks, and decisions on what to do – and what to say – are far from being a no-brainer. Leadership teams, their advisors and boards must draw on the North Star of the organization’s values coupled with dynamic reputational risk assessments. An accurate reading of the sentiments of stakeholders, from employees to customers to investors, is key. 

#2. Resilience is built into strategic and crisis planning.

Black swan events, from the rapidly escalating public health crisis to a major war catching the world by surprise, force short-term thinking. When what’s around the corner is in the fog of uncertainty, and the next curveball is anybody’s guess, playing the long game seems counterintuitive. Plans become obsolete by the time they are written, and it’s tempting to throw them out. Just put one foot in front of the other. Improvise a response to the next force majeure. This seems preferable to bracing for worst-case scenarios one can’t imagine – let alone simulate – ahead of time. Did anyone fathom that occupying a nuclear plant could be part of a country’s war strategy before Russian troops seized Chernobyl? The problem with the lack of long-term planning is that organizations become even more vulnerable to future shocks. Without proactive, strategic, systemic thinking, they fail to make decisions today that shape a better tomorrow. Forward-looking leaders embed resilience into their modus operandi by integrating strategic and crisis planning.

#3. Democracy depends on shared truths.

In PR circles and beyond, it’s been said for years: newspapers are dead. It’s not clear though if we’ve figured out an alternative. By the same token, one might say social media is dead. Claims and counterclaims on social channels are near-impossible to verify. Just try to sort out how many troops died in the battlefield in Ukraine. Nefarious actors use paid and owned channels to infuse alternate reality and shape political outcomes. Often, truths follow lived experiences, and we can’t easily agree. What I applaud as a unity of international response to the invasion of Ukraine a Palestinian might condemn as a double standard in how Canada or the United States approach international conflicts. A 2022 film “The Swimmers,” telling the story of Syrian refugees, shares their lens on the world. Their truth. In a polarizing world drowning in the lack of understanding, telling one’s story has transformational power. That’s where there’s massive opportunity for communicators. Give voice to those who don’t have it. Open dialogues. When diverse groups make space for each other’s truths, they get better at dealing with their differences.

#4. Emotions are welcomed into the workplace.

We hear about the loss of corporate culture as one outcome of the pandemic. For some leaders, bringing employees together in a physical office is a remedy. For others, it doesn’t change much. Whether workers are on the same floor or dispersed from Mexico to Montenegro, asynchronous virtual tools are taking hold as primary communication channels. Chats, emails and text messages are used to deliver feedback or initiate hard conversations. Often, little thought is given to how colleagues feel about their interactions and relationships. Included or left out of the loop. Appreciated or taken for granted. Supported or unfairly blamed. Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen, the authors of the book “Difficult conversations,” compare communication without emotions to opera without music. Turning on that music is a path to stronger organizations. A Canadian author Carolyn Stern calls this an “emotional revolution.” Best workplaces empower their teams with the tools to understand and manage effectively what goes on in their conversations, especially beneath the surface.

#5. 2023 is the year of employee development.

In a business culture where “How are you?” doesn’t warrant a substantive response, real issues are often hidden behind the veil of privacy, confidentiality and HR rules, even when mental health is proclaimed to be a priority. Often, these issues stem from the feelings around inclusion and growth at work. Neuroscientists say a human need to connect and belong is more powerful than the need for physical safety. And emotional rejection can be more painful than physical trauma. That’s why time invested in relationships – understanding each other, dealing with our differences, connecting heart to heart and building trust – is as valuable as getting the job done. In 2022, I was lucky to work with employee resource groups (ERGs) of a Fortune 500 company that taps into these internal communities with shared identities and interests to nurture inclusion. In a learning event I facilitated, we talked about discovery conversations going deeper than “I am fine, thank you,” interrupting a pattern of communication that says nothing about what’s truly important.

This is where we, communicators, make a difference in a struggling world. We help people talk about what’s important. We help them tell their story and honour each other’s truths. Here’s to using our gifts and resources to make the world a better place. Happy New Year!!

In the meantime, it’s business as usual at Not Business As Usual. NBAU Consulting offers strategic communication and crisis leadership services to guide organizations through change, facilitate understanding and build resilience.