From Messaging to Legitimacy: A Practical Playbook for Comms Leaders
By Brenda Duran
As featured in PRSA Strategies & Tactics, August 2026 Issue: Leadership
If you lead communications inside a government agency, nonprofit, health care system, or other complex organization, you’ve likely experienced some version of this scenario:
Legal wants to say nothing. Operations is still gathering facts. Leadership needs a statement by 3 p.m. Frontline staff learned about the issue from the news. Meanwhile, community stakeholders are already asking questions, and Spanish-language media is discussing the story before anyone in the room has reviewed the coverage.
At first glance, it looks like a communications problem.
In reality, it’s a coordination problem.
After more than a decade leading communications in public institutions, including building communications offices from the ground up and supporting programs that serve justice-impacted individuals, community-based organizations, and vulnerable populations, I have learned that the most effective communications leaders do far more than craft messages. We help organizations coordinate information, align decision-making, and build trust before a crisis occurs.
Here are a few lessons that have helped me navigate complex environments where public trust is earned one interaction at a time.
If you lead communications inside a government agency, nonprofit, health care system, or other complex organization, you’ve likely experienced some version of this scenario:
Legal wants to say nothing. Operations is still gathering facts. Leadership needs a statement by 3 p.m. Frontline staff learned about the issue from the news. Meanwhile, community stakeholders are already asking questions, and Spanish-language media is discussing the story before anyone in the room has reviewed the coverage.
At first glance, it looks like a communications problem.
In reality, it’s a coordination problem.
After more than a decade leading communications in public institutions, including building communications offices from the ground up and supporting programs that serve justice-impacted individuals, community-based organizations, and vulnerable populations, I have learned that the most effective communications leaders do far more than craft messages. We help organizations coordinate information, align decision-making, and build trust before a crisis occurs.
Here are a few lessons that have helped me navigate complex environments where public trust is earned one interaction at a time.
Establish a coordination rhythm before you need it.
One of the most common mistakes organizations make is waiting until an issue becomes urgent before bringing people together.
Communications should not be invited into the room after decisions have been made. We should be involved when policies, programs and operational changes are still being developed.
My team regularly works across multiple divisions, programs and external partners. We have learned that the earlier the communications are included in planning conversations, the better prepared the organization is to address community questions, media interest and stakeholder concerns.
Create a standing cross-functional meeting that includes communications, operations, legal, policy and executive leadership. Use the meeting to discuss upcoming announcements, identify potential risks, and anticipate questions before information becomes public.
For major initiatives, consider developing an impact memo that outlines:
Key audiences affected
Potential risks and concerns
Anticipated media interest
Internal stakeholders who need advance notice
Frequently asked questions
Core messaging points
Good communication starts long before the first press release is drafted.
Turn organizational values into procedures.
Many organizations say they value transparency, but far fewer define what transparency looks like operationally.
Trust is built when employees understand how decisions are made and who is responsible for communicating them.
Develop clear communication protocols that answer questions such as:
What information can be shared without additional approvals?
When should communications leadership be notified?
What issues require executive review?
When does a situation require a coordinated response across departments?
The goal is not to create more bureaucracy. The goal is to eliminate uncertainty.
When teams understand the process, they move faster and communicate more consistently. In public sector communications, we often hear about “red tape” and bureaucracy; however, having a process in place can address these concerns and make your operation more efficient.
Treat multilingual comms as a core strategy.
In diverse communities, multilingual communications cannot be an afterthought.
Throughout my career serving Los Angeles County residents, I have seen firsthand how important it is to ensure information reaches people in the languages they speak and through the channels they trust.
Translation alone is not enough.
Effective multilingual outreach requires planning from the beginning. When developing a communications strategy, ask:
Have bilingual staff been briefed and prepared?
Are translated materials being developed simultaneously rather than after publication?
Have Spanish-language and ethnic media outlets been identified in advance?
Are trusted community organizations helping amplify the message?
Does the messaging reflect cultural context and community concerns?
When multilingual planning is integrated early, organizations are better equipped to reach all audiences equitably and avoid communication gaps that can undermine trust.
Prepare executives before they face the public.
Communications leaders are increasingly serving as strategic advisors to executives. This job is becoming more critical for executives across all sectors and industries, according to a recent Washington Post article.
More and more executives are now realizing that this responsibility extends far beyond speechwriting or media relations.
Whether an executive is announcing a new initiative, speaking at a community forum, or responding to a challenging issue, preparation matters.
Some of the most successful executive communications strategies include: message development sessions before major announcements; one-page briefing documents with key facts and talking points; media training with scenario planning for difficult questions; and stakeholder and community sentiment assessments.
In my experience, an hour of preparation before an event can prevent weeks of reactive communications afterward.
The most effective executives are rarely the most polished. They are the most prepared.
Measure trust, not just reach.
Communications professionals often report metrics such as impressions, views, clicks and engagement.
While those numbers have value, they do not always tell us whether trust is increasing.
Consider measuring outcomes that connect communications to organizational performance. In my organization, we look at:
Percentage of media coverage that accurately reflects organizational priorities
Response time to stakeholder inquiries
Community partner feedback
Internal awareness of major announcements
For public-serving organizations, success is not simply about visibility. It is about credibility.
Make the new process easier than the old one.
One of the biggest challenges communications leaders face is changing organizational behavior. This is an issue that has always been challenging in the public sector space.
People rarely resist communication because they disagree with it. More often, they resist because the process feels cumbersome.
To reduce friction, I’ve learned it’s important to create systems that make participation easy:
Recently, my team created standardized communication request forms and event planning templates that have been very useful and effective for staff.
Also, be sure to revise your media inquiry protocols and social media approval workflows so everyone is clear on the processes in place at all times. At my organization, we have found that embedding communications staff into planning conversations early helps prevent last-minute requests and creates stronger partnerships across teams.
When the process is simple and helpful, adoption follows naturally.
The bottom line
The future of communications leadership is not just about messaging.
It is about building systems that help organizations coordinate information, make informed decisions, and respond consistently under pressure.
The strongest communications functions are often invisible. They are reflected in well-informed employees, prepared executives, coordinated teams, and communities that trust the information they receive.
That kind of legitimacy is not created through a single campaign or statement. It is built through thousands of well-managed interactions over time.
And increasingly, that is where communications leaders create the greatest value.
