In January, former President Trump moves back into the White House. New faces will comprise the administration and walk the halls of Congress with a perceived mandate to smash the status quo. Posts on X and Truth Social will drive news cycles on any given day. Across the regulatory state, the only sure thing is uncertainty, providing a critically important moment for communicators and government affairs professionals to work hand in glove for mutual benefit.
In too many organizations, however, government affairs and communications teams are siloed to the detriment of the business. Both teams are charged with shaping perceptions of the brand with specific audiences, including lawmakers, regulators, customers, employees, and shareholders. However, barriers that stifle collaboration and teamwork are all too common.
Why the disconnect? I’ve heard and experienced different scenarios throughout my career in corporate communications and now as a consultant.
From the government affairs perspective, the most common refrain is that communications and marketing teams are too reckless. They don’t understand the nuances of a specific policy matter, potentially hindering or damaging relationships with key legislators or negotiations by sharing too much of the team’s playbook with the media and outsiders to curry favor and build relationships.
Communication teams feel that they’re treated as an “add-on” service or “tool” that exists to do government affairs bidding rather than as a respected and trusted strategic partner. The result? Needless internal tension and intermittent communication between teams.
To overcome these pain points, let’s first work to understand them. You’ll see that it’s logical why such barriers develop by the nature of what these teams are meant to do. Here are a few common issues:
Goals Misalignment: Each team may have different priorities, leading to conflicts over messaging and strategy. Communications teams often focus on media coverage and public perception, while government affairs teams prioritize legislative influence and policy outcomes.
Responsiveness and Risk: Communications teams often deal with time-sensitive matters, including reporter inquiries, while government affairs teams would instead operate out of the headlines, at their own pace and behind the scenes. This creates tension. For example, communicators would like to develop and maintain reporter relationships but can’t if responses to policy inquiries are ignored. This disconnect can lead to frustration, particularly if the overall mentality of government affairs is not to talk to the press due to distrust or lack of understanding about the utility of doing so.
Resource Allocation: Both teams may compete for the same resources, such as budget or staff. This can lead to tension over how best to utilize limited resources.
So, what’s the fix? To quote the legendary musician Billy Joel, “It’s always been a matter of trust.” Suppose these teams are set up to operate independently. In that case, they will miss opportunities, such as leveraging public campaigns to support advocacy efforts or using government relations insights to inform public communications.
For example, the consistently bleak news of a factory shutting down and laying off workers will have higher communications stakes under a Trump administration focused on bolstering American manufacturing. In such a scenario, ideally, dismantling these information silos will ensure that teams understand what the other is doing. Greater knowledge sharing will result in more consistent and effective messaging to lawmakers and media during a challenging communications moment.
In my experience, creating an authentic corporate narrative is one way to bridge the divide and build trust.
John Hagel III recently retired from Deloitte, where he founded and led the Center for the Edge, a research center based in Silicon Valley. In 2021, he penned a compelling case in the Harvard Business Review, “Every Company Needs a Narrative,” which fits the matter at hand. John writes, “Building a successful narrative requires a deep understanding of your customers: How are their needs evolving? What are the big opportunities that would excite and inspire them? What are the challenges or obstacles they would confront in seeking to address those opportunities? What actions must they take to overcome those obstacles and achieve the opportunity? Are those actions something that the company could help them to pursue?”
Narrative’s recent NEXUS Survey found that voters’ perceptions of business are heavily influenced by dissatisfaction with high costs and unprecedented distrust of elites, raising the stakes for anyone tasked with managing brand identities and reputations. The government affairs and communications teams can most effectively address these challenges in tandem.
One way for communicators to lead on this front is by embracing brand journalism. This could entail establishing a corporate newsroom highlighting your employees delivering on your brand promise or your company's latest innovations to drive sustainability or positively impact the local economy. These stories can be packaged and repurposed so your government affairs allies can leverage them to better connect with lawmaker targets.
But these stories can’t be created in a vacuum. A communications team must first understand what key legislative relationships value to generate more impactful stories that help their government affairs peers do their jobs better, resulting in greater value for the company overall.
Open communication, regular collaboration, and joint strategic planning can alleviate these pain points. Encouraging a culture of mutual respect and understanding of each team’s goals can also help bridge the gap between communications and government affairs.
No matter where you sit within your organization, government affairs and communications teams serve the same overall brand. Those companies and teams who take small steps to be more intentionally collaborative will yield better outcomes in the long run, setting themselves up for success in a new-look Washington.
Want to continue the conversation? Email me at ddziok@narrativestrategies.com