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In times of crisis, combining words with non-verbal communication strengthens understanding and emotional resonance. Whether a comforting gesture or a powerful symbol, these silent languages speak volumes, making your message more accessible and impactful when it matters most.

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I applied transparent regular updates. Lessons I could apply would be to encourage more ways for two-way communication and showing better understanding for diverse experiences.

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Some of the risks of informal communication could be undermining of professionalism and authority, misunderstanding, and confusion regarding decision making processed. However benefits could be better engagement, trust and respect.

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Governance leaders can balance empathy and decisiveness by listening to stakeholders' concerns, building trust through care, then clearly outlining strategies and seeking feedback to make necessary adjustments.

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Q1 Empathy in communication can further enhance your words Ardern's gesture of the hijab showed I am not just talking I genuinely care about your culture and respecting your traditions.

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Q2. This year I was tasked with the Annual Report it is a very large task and always falls due when our organisation is overwhelmed with many other things. I used clear communication tactics to ensure deadlines were firm and staff understood the need to prioritise the annual report. We met our deadlines and have been receiving praise the document as a whole.

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Q3 there are many risks for my organisation to consider when adopting a more informal style of communication. We are a government organisation and must be firm on policies and procedures but we do host many events and try to use our social media to show a more fun side. Often a play on words or some fun photo with captions.

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Q4 Governance leaders can maintain the balance of empathy and decisiveness by using non-verbal communication and by remaining clear with the communication to ensure that is understandable from the outset. Giving real life examples if possible in communication and if change is to be made the benefits of that change could be clearly communicated.

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Empathy builds trust when leaders genuinely acknowledge harm and emotional impact before addressing process or policy. Non‑verbal signals such as visible presence, respectful gestures, and calm tone reinforce sincerity. These cues demonstrate solidarity and inclusion, strengthening legitimacy during crises.

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During crises, clear, regular, and honest communication reduces uncertainty. Using simple language, consistent updates, and openly explaining what is known and unknown helps maintain trust. Adopting transparency and predictable communication rhythms strengthens leadership credibility and collective compliance.

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Question 3 – Social Media as a Leadership Tool

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Question 3 – Social Media as a Leadership Tool

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Social media can humanise leadership by enabling direct, timely communication and increasing transparency. An informal tone can improve engagement, but risks include misinterpretation and blurred boundaries.

Strong governance requires clear protocols, professional standards and alignment with organisational values.

Short leadership updates on internal platforms (video messages, live Q&A

Informal check‑ins during periods of change (“Here’s what we’ve been working on this week”)

Myth‑busting posts that address common concerns or misinformation

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Question 4 - Balancing Empathy and Authority

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Question 4 - Balancing Empathy and Authority

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Ardern’s leadership demonstrates that empathy and authority are not opposites, they are mutually reinforcing. Leaders can balance empathy and authority by acknowledging emotions while clearly articulating decisions and rationale. Listening builds trust, but decisiveness maintains confidence. When actions are grounded in shared values, firm decisions are more likely to be understood and accepted.

We benefit more when leaders can;

Lead with empathy, close with clarity: acknowledge emotions first, then state decisions firmly

Link decisions to values: explain how actions align with organisational purpose, safety, fairness, or wellbeing

Act decisively once consultation is complete: hesitation after engagement can erode confidence

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I link this back to ethical leadership and acting ethically - if you are trusted and spend time building relationships and creating an environment where feedback or what in Quality and Safety is called a safe culture then that stands you in good stand - the way I try to do that is to be as present as I can be in a conversation with someone, lots of non-verbals and particularly leaving space and allowing silences.

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I am thinking about a current significan change to one of my programs which is a build of a program with more resourcing rather than cost cutting but it is still a change. Working with one of my managers, HR and a comms specialist we have worked up our comms approach privileging telling the team first and allowing losts of consultation time, putting all the change docs accessible on a sharepoing, having both town halls, and drop ins where leadership is accessible for staff to raise concerns about the change, and having ongoing updates to FAQs. In the process but so far so good, including in discussion with the union and other key stakeholders. The key here is for the change process to allow real consultation with guardrails.

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I sit comfortably with informal comms, drop in to staff meetings, weekly updates that are less formal, working my floors, and stand up meetings but less comfortable with social media. Noting this if some comms need to go out that way, how do I use experts around me is the key here in the messaging I put out which is not that frequent given my key stakeholders are internal to the organisation. Still within this I produce annual internal reports for the executive and academic board leveraging SMEs to produce these reports.

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This connects to the styles of communicationand which style or combination is approrpriate for particular situations - the key thing in some of my areas of responsibility is active engagement and being assertive around change but also using persuasion to build the argument for change. Again being a relational leader that shows empathy, a stance of having expertise but also not knowing is important.

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Empathy is an important tool for building trust and solidarity with stakeholders, particularly during challenging or uncertain times. In my field, one of the most effective ways to demonstrate empathy is through site visits and direct engagement with members. It also demonstrates that decisions impacting their way of life are not being made by faceless staff in a distant office, but by people who have taken the time to listen, observe, and understand their circumstances.

By combining empathy with visible engagement, we can strengthen relationships, build trust, and improve transparency in decisions.