Communicating Fast and Slow
We’ve had an amazing opportunity over the past year to tell the story of how foundations in the American South are leading during a critical time in our nation’s history.
Through a partnership with longtime client Philanthropy Southeast, we interviewed dozens of leaders, thinkers, and community members across the South.
In every conversation, we have been inspired by the resilience and courage of these leaders. They’ve balanced the urgent needs prompted by COVID-19, violence, natural disasters, and political polarization with the long-term challenge of unwinding the structural and deep-rooted inequities that have been a part of the South since before our nation’s founding.
You can read what we’ve learned in a newly released report — Leading With Courage: Reshaping Southern Philanthropy for a New Era — which is available for download via Philanthropy Southeast.
There’s a lot to digest, but I wanted to use this space to explore one of the report’s key themes — the conflict between addressing urgent needs and the long-term challenges – and the tension this creates for those of us who work in communications.
Foundations, said MDC’s David Dodson, “have to balance moving quickly and moving slowly … They’re running two races simultaneously — a marathon and a sprint. That leads to a lot of conflict and tension.”
Dodson, known for his work in the practice of Passing Gear Philanthropy, articulates a tension that many of us face as we approach our day-to-day communications — the need to share timely information and react to the news of the day, while at the same time keeping an eye on the long game.
If we stay too focused on the immediate crises and challenges, we lose sight of the bigger picture and run the risk of alienating and exhausting our audiences.
If we only focus on the long-term, we run the risk of seeming out of touch.
The most successful communications strategies achieve both — and they do so by consistently connecting what’s happening right in front of us with the long-term vision.
Even during a time of crisis, effective communicators organically connect some element of their mission, vision, and values to their urgent messages. And when they’re teeing up a more forward-looking message, they are finding touchpoints that connect that future vision to the here and now.
Now is a great opportunity to review your communications to see if you’re making these connections.
If your communications feel too reflexive, resolve to make sure you reference or reflect your mission, values or long-term strategic vision in every piece of content you create.
And if you’re great at setting up the long game but struggling to connect with your audiences, perhaps it’s time to find more deliberate connections to what’s happening right now.
It may feel uneasy to simultaneously run a marathon and a sprint, but with discipline, you can master the art of communicating fast and slow.
Peter Panepento
Managing Partner
Peter@turn-two.co
