Rick Chambers & Associates, LLC
Strategic Communications
  • Home
  • What We Offer
  • Guiding Values
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Contact Us

Making True Leadership Shine

9/22/2013

 
Picture
[Note: I originally wrote this as a guest blog for my dear friend Mary Jo Asmus at Aspire Collaborative Services.]

“Have you realized,” a friend pointed out to me, “that yours may be the first novel in the history of fiction to have a PR person as a hero?”

Well … no, actually. After all, I’m a public relations guy by day—and, too often, by night, weekend and holiday—so one shouldn’t expect me to assail my profession, even by parable. True, Tristan West, one of the key characters in my novel Radiance, isn’t entirely likable. He’s angry, hard-drinking, self-centered and resentful, a real curmudgeon. But those are behaviors borne from his experiences, not traits of his career.

So I started thinking: Why shouldn’t a PR guy be the hero of a novel? What is it about the term “public relations” that brings the pot of social ire to a boil? And what can leaders learn from that?

What I eventually realized was this: It’s all about the truth. What keeps Tristan from being totally contemptible is his true character. At bottom, he really is a man of integrity; he cares about what is right and true. That fact overwhelms his cynicism and expunges his selfishness. He rises above his darker tendencies. Truth is what makes him a leader.

In the real world, sadly, some organizations use PR as a smokescreen. They eschew honest dialogue in favor of selective truthtelling and blurry presentations. In short, they embrace “spin,” a word that every PR professional and every leader should strike from their vocabulary. There’s another word for spin; it’s called lying.

But real public relations, like real leadership, is dedicated to the truth. Both desire to understand their stakeholders through honest dialogue and relationship-building. Both are willing to learn and to change. Both are focused on mutual respect and a common vision. Both know that deception never works, at least not for long, and that truth is the only mortar that binds the bricks of trust, commitment and shared success.

We live in a disturbing era of Wikileakage, where mistrust is rampant, rumors overflow and conspiracies—real or imagined—lurk behind every closed door. Perhaps never before have we been in such need of genuine leaders—those committed to integrity, to compassion, to what is right and true.

Truth isn’t always the easy path, as Tristan discovers at the risk of his life. But it’s always the right path to take—and the only one true leaders follow.


Comments are closed.
    Picture

    Rick Chambers

    Rick is the owner and president of Rick Chambers & Associates, LLC.

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    December 2021
    September 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012

    Categories

    All
    Accuracy
    Code Of Ethics
    Communication Ammo
    Communications
    Digital News
    Fairness
    Firefly
    Integrity
    Internal Communication
    Lie
    Loyalty
    Matt Friedman
    Media Relations
    Pr
    Print News
    Prsa
    Public Relations
    Radiance
    Recognition
    Sean Williams
    Serenity
    Spin
    Star Trek
    Star Trek Phase Ii
    Tanner Friedman
    Truth

    RSS Feed

About Us

Rick Chambers & Associates, LLC, brings a solid track record of strategic, diverse, objective-based communications and public relations services. RC&A works closely with clients to understand their business, develop stakeholder relationships, build meaningful dialogue and help share their stories effectively.

Picture
Rick Chambers & Associates, LLC
1514 Kingsbury Drive
Portage, MI 49002-1664
USA
269.873.5820
info@rickchambersassociates.com