Government Relations Leadership: Managing through Crises

The Covid-19 pandemic, resulting recession, and recent series of racial incidents and associated protests have put most organizations in a defensive posture. Russell Reynolds Associates recently conducted a pulse survey of top government relations leaders, gauging how the government relations function has fared during this tumultuous period.

As of May, 63% of respondents noted they were still in "stabilization" mode, with less than 10% confidently managing some level of reform. Of course, what this means is that leaders are constantly assessing the external environment, pressure testing business needs, and adapting their strategies, management and tools.

Below, we share our initial, top-line findings on leadership implications in this moment, including the actions government relations practitioners anticipate needing to take in order to excel in this period:

Stepping up as a team leader:

Engaging more deeply as an executive counselor:

Going deeper in the states & on policy:

Driving smart, ethical business behaviors:

Pushing for clarity from government and public health bodies:

What's clear is that government relations leadership is more critical than ever.

Over the coming weeks, we are conducting in-depth interviews with government relations experts and look forward to sharing those results.

Russell Reynolds Associates' Government Relations Practice members: TR Straub, Stephanie Tomasso, John McNaught, Alisha Hathaway, Kenny Dougherty