From Risk to Resilience: How Communicators Lead in an Unforgiving Landscape - FleishmanHillard

Article

September 10, 2025

By Matt Rose, Rebecca Rausch, Geoff Mordock and Alexander Lyall

Organizations today operate in an unforgiving risk environment. Polarization, regulatory scrutiny, cyberattacks, employee activism, and the viral speed of social media can turn a manageable issue into a full-scale crisis in moments. In this reality, communications leaders are no longer just brand stewards, they are trusted advisors, risk strategists, and builders of resilience.

To succeed in a crisis situation, communicators need more than reactive playbooks. They need intelligence, agility, integration, resilience, and humanity – all powered by the smart use of data and technology.

Intelligence That Anticipates Risk

The organizations that weather crises most effectively are those that spot and appropriately manage risks before they fully evolve into something more significant. They have their eyes on what could potentially impact their organization’s reputation and actively identify narratives that could have a negative impact. As part of this, modern communicators must constantly track evolving narratives across media, niche platforms, stakeholder conversations, political arenas, and global markets.

The real advantage lies in interpreting those signals and helping leadership act before they become tomorrow’s headlines. Data and AI can speed and amplify this work, scanning massive volumes of information, detecting patterns, and separating noise from genuine risk. When combined with sharp human judgment, this creates a forward-looking posture rooted in confidence and clarity.

Agility in High-Stakes Moments

When a crisis breaks, speed matters – but speed without clarity compounds risk. Success depends on clear escalation protocols, tested frameworks, and disciplined message architectures, all backed by real-time monitoring that provides actionable insight.

Technology can accelerate this execution, from dashboards that track sentiment minute-by-minute to AI tools that help refine messaging across multiple channels. But the true differentiator is preparation, empowerment, and the ability of communicators to move quickly – and credibly – under pressure.

Integrated Stakeholder Engagement

Crises never unfold in a single arena. Investors, employees, regulators, customers, policymakers, and activists all bring distinct expectations, biases and communication habits. Communicators must serve as the connective tissue, ensuring messages are consistent while tailoring tone, content, and channels for each audience.

Data-driven insights make this engagement sharper and more precise, helping teams understand shifting sentiment and adapt in real time. Still, integration is as much about leadership alignment and discipline as it is about technology.

Resilience as a Strategic Asset

In an era where headlines move markets and digital narratives shape reputations instantly, crisis readiness is more than a defensive shield – it’s a strategic advantage. Building resilience means embedding preparedness into governance, leadership development, and organizational culture.

It means pressure-testing through simulations, capturing lessons learned, and evolving systems as new risks emerge. Our approach emphasizes resilience over reaction – helping organizations withstand disruption, respond with clarity, and emerge stronger, with reputations enhanced by how they led through the storm.

Leading With Humanity and Purpose

At the center of every crisis are people – employees seeking reassurance, customers demanding transparency, communities expecting accountability. Effective communicators lead with humanity, balancing facts with empathy and aligning every message to a clear sense of purpose.

Technology can deliver speed and scale, but trust is earned through consistent principles, visible actions, and authentic communication.

Today’s complex risk environment is a constant test of resilience and trust. To meet that challenge, communications teams must anticipate emerging risks, act with clarity in high-stakes moments, engage stakeholders with precision, and lead with empathy at every step.

Data and AI offer powerful tools to sharpen judgment and accelerate execution, but the heart of effective crisis management remains human. That belief drives our work: blending insight, preparation, and humanity with the best tools available, so organizations aren’t just prepared to withstand disruption – they are ready to lead through it.

About the Authors

• Matt Rose – Americas Lead for Crisis, Issues & Risk Management: Matt is an SVP & Senior Partner in New York with more than 30 years’ experience in advising organizations on crisis and issues management, risk mitigation, and reputation recovery. He has guided companies through reputational crises, labor issues, regulatory challenges, ESG controversies, and high-profile litigation.

• Rebecca Rausch – Lead, Crisis Communications: An SVP & Partner in the St. Louis office, Rebecca has more than 25 years of experience in crisis and issues management, guiding major brands and executives through complex challenges. With strategic insight and decisive action, she oversees all facets of crisis and reputation management from preparedness to recovery.

• Geoff Mordock – Lead, Issues Management: Geoff is an SVP & Senior Partner based in Orange County and brings more than 25 years of experience helping organizations manage and shape corporate reputation, including navigating significant crises and issues through critical moments.

• Alex Lyall – Lead, Risk Management, AI & Innovation: Alex is an SVP & Partner in New York with more than 15 years of experience in crisis communications, issues management, preparedness, and risk management,working across industries. As part of the leadership team, Alex will help define best practices, shape go-to-market strategies, and scales solutions, with a focus on AI integration and talent development.