7 Secrets of Highly Effective Social Impact Communicators: How to Grow Your Influence to Solve Society's Most Pressing Challenges

Social impact communication is quickly become a mandatory skill for leaders of modern businesses and nonprofits, at all levels of an organization. Yet using strategy, language and influence to advance game-changing societal breakthroughs isn’t something most people learn in college. This book provides a pathway for empathy, clarity and persuasive communication to advance the social impact work that can help people, their families and society. Too often, workplaces leave these essential capabilities to chance or trust osmosis to do the work. These aren’t skills you can learn in a classroom. They must be learned while actively engaged in the work of social impact leadership. Too many organizations treat social impact communication and programmatic leadership as “just another marketing project.” It’s a tremendous missed opportunity for businesses seeking to add value to society and deepen their client/customer relationships. What’s more, it directly damages other aspects of organizations’ ESG priorities— specifically, their cultivation of a healthy, safe and engaged workplace with team members whose personal values and professional activities are in harmony. Journalist and social impact business executive Nate Birt walks you through the essential mindset shifts and principles needed perform the social impact work that matters and have confidence your headed toward true north. The book includes firsthand insights, how-to strategies and social impact leadership anecdotes, along with insights and tips from dozens of social impact communicators whose perspective will provide you with real-world validation, strategies and encouragement. Each chapter includes a call for personal reflection or action that features a series of question-based prompts to encourage further introspection and journaling. At the end of the book, you'll get access to other resources to continue the conversation and professional development in the area of social impactcommunication. What You'll Learn Understand what makes social impact communication fundamentally different from conventional advertising, journalism or marketing See why social impact communication requires translational communication capabilities within an organization, across partner stakeholders, and with external audiences, clients and customers. Examine how social impact communication cultivates more engaged leaders and teams by unlocking the power of team members’ individual values and personal purpose Who This Book Is For Social-impact executives and their teams in corporate or non-profit settings; non-ESG-focused executives seeking to better understand social impact and associated leadership/management strategies; college or university students seeking to specialize in social impact leadership; think-tank leaders, policymakers or others whose work intersects with social impactdisciplines and decision-making. Table of Contents About the Author About the Technical Reviewer Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: Secret #1: Highly effective social impact communicators ... care both about the words and the mission Define the mission and why it matters to you A word about technical skill Harness the power of purpose Curiosity drives you to keep discovering new facets of the mission Part 1: Commit nothing to memory save impressions and a handful of key insights Part 2: Do your homework about that social impact issue Part 3: Ask experts directly to fully understand the context Know yourself best to be the best mission-bearer Practical ways to put your social impact mission before the words you use 1. Understand what’s at stake 2. Understand what’s at risk 3. Crave a brighter world with better opportunities 4. Feel compelled to bring others alongside you 5. Fuse communication and leadership together 6. Clarify your vision and talk about it The mission reminds you social impact is achievable Key Questions Chapter 2: Secret #2: Highly effective social impact communicators ... are astute translators inside and outside of their organizations Navigate friction with the future in mind Get comfortable standing out as a translator Why social impact communicators must learn to translate among parties—and how ... Understand and recognize the worldviews and unique sectoral cultures of different stakeholder types Private-sector businesses Nonprofits Government agencies ... See both sides of an issue ... Explain a complex issue in ways many can understand ... Define your personal views on the social impact issues you help solve ... Build the most compelling case in partnership with others ... Stay humble and stay focused on the mission ... Mold exactly the right team for the work you’re doing ... Achieve diverse social impact outcomes across different industries amid rapid change ... Find a home within your organization and among your peers at last How translation has served my social impact journey so far Key Questions Chapter 3: Secret #3: Highly effective social impact communicators ... leverage the strength of personal and organizational values to tell compelling stories The place where values come from is the workshop inside your head—and inside your organization What power do values really have? Define the solutions you offer as a social impact communicator Writing Editing Facilitating Leading Empowering Building Want to be more effective? Pair the right value(s) to the right social impact solutions Why you must keep adding values to your toolbox But what if you encounter a situation where your values could be compromised? Define your “actions accompanying values”—when X happens, I will do Y What to do when values conflict: Understand, align as possible, and influence Learn to discover others’ values quickly—and work toward them together Embrace a bigger worldview than you thought possible Key Questions Chapter 4: Secret #4: Highly effective social impact communicators ... embrace the renewable fuel of teamwork Burnout is real in social impact communication, even though we’re so focused on the mission we ignore it Strategies for strengthening your social impact team by reversing the status quo Status quo: Conduct meetings that crush the soul Your choice: Conduct meetings that embolden and launch Status quo: Cast a vision only you can see Your choice: Co-create your vision with your team Status quo: Set deadlines impossible from the word “go” Your choice: Set realistic and flexible deadlines Status quo: Treat people like commodities—all alike Your choice: Put people first, work together, and make something great Status quo: Celebrate statistics only, not accompanying success stories Your choice: Celebrate stories of impact underpinned by data How to foster a mindful and impactful team using the PURSUE framework Positive Understandable Relatable Stalwart Useful Enthusiastic When the going gets tough, turn to daily micro habits to get unstuck and get going Micro Habit #1: Great teams embrace the work and one another, flaws and all Micro Habit #2: Great teams overpower the isolation and misunderstood nature of social impact work Micro Habit #3: Great teams know one another personally as well as professionally Micro Habit #4: Great teams draw energy from complementary capabilities Micro Habit #5: Great teams show gratitude before attitude—there’s nothing to prove until you have something to prove Micro Habit #6: Great teams navigate complexity with calm, not chaos Micro Habit #7: Great teams seek cohesion rather than full clarity—people feel part of something great, even external partners Micro Habit #8: Great teams champion honesty, admit when things could be better, and work to make it so Teamwork is only renewable to the extent you invest in it Key Questions Chapter 5: Secret #5: Highly effective social impact communicators ... reframe every setback as the crest of a hill New insights yield new direction—and the potential for disorienting doubt Crest-climbing insight No. 1: Hills provide unprecedented perspective Crest-climbing insight No. 2: Each hill must be tackled differently, though there are patterns Crest-climbing insight No. 3: Once you’ve defined what’s hard, you can determine what’s possible Crest-climbing insight No. 4: Your flawed fear needs a free ride home Crest-climbing insight No. 5: You can’t climb all the hills today Great social impact communicators build a resilient mindset to keep going in the face of adversity Act with integrity Lead with humility Be scientific in your approach Stay skeptical Communicate with transparency and openness After your hike past the crest, learn to navigate the cloud forest beyond Wait Analyze Take Gratitude Evaluate Options Run Again The watchout and the opportunity Key Questions Chapter 6: Secret #6: Highly effective social impact communicators ... cede perfection to the messy reality of change-making How messy looks for social impact communicators Paint the vision, not Van Gogh Why you should embrace satisfied persistence rather than perfection Stop trying to tie up all the loose ends Move ahead instead of around in circles When the dust flies, remember it will settle Capture attention and direct focus rather than sowing chaos Turn panic into peaceful action Guard the silent moments Engage in regular conversation that sparks ideas and opportunities Trade predictability for adaptability Key Questions Chapter 7: Secret #7: Highly effective social impact communicators ... build personal and professional legacies that outlive them and their careers First principles of legacy building for social impact communicators Principle No. 1: Legacy is the ripple effect of our actions Principle No. 2: Legacy is shiftable, not set in stone Principle No. 3: Legacy exists beyond our lifetime Principle No. 4: Legacy can be a blessing or a byword Principle No. 5: Legacy persists in the background How you can create a legacy that outlives you Legacy Builder 1: Give away your grace and mercy liberally Legacy Builder 2: Guard your time and share it so it aligns with your values and the mission Legacy Builder 3: Be honest with yourself and others about who you really are Legacy Builder 4: Focus on actions that hold true 500 years from now Legacy Builder 5: Seek forgiveness over apologies Legacy Builder 6: Be slow yet deliberate, not fast and reckless Legacy Builder 7: Bring trusted partners into your inner circle Legacy Builder 8: Help others remember the promise of their own multigenerational dream Ask the experts: How can social impact communicators build personal and professional legacies that outlive them and their careers? Some final thoughts on legacy and the journey before you Key Questions Chapter 8: Some helpful resources for social impact communicators Recommended Reading Index Social impact communication is quickly become a mandatory skill for leaders of modern businesses and nonprofits, at all levels of an organization. Yet using strategy, language and influence to advance game-changing societal breakthroughs isn’t something most people learn in college. This book provides a pathway for empathy, clarity and persuasive communication to advance the social impact work that can help people, their families and society. Too often, workplaces leave these essential capabilities to chance or trust osmosis to do the work. These aren’t skills you can learn in a classroom. They must be learned while actively engaged in the work of social impact leadership. Too many organizations treat social impact communication and programmatic leadership as “just another marketing project.” It’s a tremendous missed opportunity for businesses seeking to add value to society and deepen their client/customer relationships. What’s more, it directly damages other aspects of organizations’ ESG priorities— specifically, their cultivation of a healthy, safe and engaged workplace with team members whose personal values and professional activities are in harmony. Journalist and social impact business executive Nate Birt walks you through the essential mindset shifts and principles needed perform the social impact work that matters and have confidence your headed toward true north. The book includes firsthand insights, how-to strategies and social impact leadership anecdotes, along with insights and tips from dozens of social impact communicators whose perspective will provide you with real-world validation, strategies and encouragement. Each chapter includes a call for personal reflection or action that features a series of question-based prompts to encourage further introspection and journaling. At the end of the book, you'll get access to other resources to continue the conversation and professional development in the area of social impact communication. What You'll Learn Understand what makes social impact communication fundamentally different from conventional advertising, journalism or marketing See why social impact communication requires translational communication capabilities within an organization, across partner stakeholders, and with external audiences, clients and customers. Examine how social impact communication cultivates more engaged leaders and teams by unlocking the power of team members’ individual values and personal purpose Who This Book Is For Social-impact executives and their teams in corporate or non-profit settings; non-ESG-focused executives seeking to better understand social impact and associated leadership/management strategies; college or university students seeking to specialize in social impact leadership; think-tank leaders, policymakers or others whose work intersects with social impact disciplines and decision-making.