It has taken me a week to simmer down my thoughts about an editorial column that appeared in a Canadian newspaper recently. The column was written by a well known human resources consultant who it appears based her article on books by others. In it, she explains that when faced with a crisis or controversy, it is deliberate public relations strategy to do one of the following - outright denial, justification, explanation, rationalization or providing an excuse or apology.

With words like "deliberate evasion of responsibility" and "even going so far as…" (using employees in commercials) it paints an unsavoury picture of the communications profession. Personally, I have never been expected to lie or witnessed the "deliberate evasion" tactics described in the article. I would not agree that this is standard practice. The second half gets to the heart of the matter - the best reputation repair strategy is to build a good one! Effective leadership, open communication, and ethical cultures are the key. Now that’s what communications is all about!

Great leadership is the topic of the upcoming Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants - and I am the guest host of the October 1 edition. Click here to find out how to submit a post.