W

hen Mark Twain quipped more than a century ago that '€œif you have nothing to say, say nothing'€, keeping silent on any given issue may well have been the safe option, unless you had something profound to say.

But in our evolving world of instant communication and instant gratification, political, business and community leaders no longer have the luxury of remaining silent until they feel it is time to talk.

In Indonesia today, the general public both want and expect to know what is going on as and when it happens, and look directly to our leaders to engage them on the matters that they are concerned about.

With more than 72 million active Internet users, they also no longer rely only on traditional news sources to get information. Online news, blogs, tweets and the opinion of their social media networks can be just as influential as the daily morning papers or evening TV news bulletins.

In the absence of leaders pro-actively telling their story across all channels, it'€™s inevitable others will do this for them. Remain silent and say nothing? Then be prepared for others to fill in the gap.

As a former CEO of WWF in the US once sagely said '€œyou can never err on the side of communication as a leader. In the absence of communication, you will be surprised by the incredible things they assume about you'€.

And assume they will. We recently saw this working out first hand with the current government. In the absence of the government proactively and regularly telling its story, there was a rapidly growing assumption that nothing was happening, that the government had lost its way and was ineffectual.

When news broke recently that President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo had appointed a dedicated communications team to address this, some believed it to be an indulgent move, aimed only at securing his personal popularity. It was, however, quite the contrary and something that the President should have done the moment he was appointed.

Far from being indulgent, a strong communication team is critical in ensuring that the public is aware of what the government is focused on, where it is making progress, what the emerging issues are and what Jokowi intends to do to resolve them.

Such a team is not about ensuring popularity, it is about ensuring all of the government'€™s constituencies are kept informed. It is about ensuring public debate on the current challenges facing the government and Indonesia can occur based on the facts and a number of perspectives, not just on the opinions of a few commentators filling in the gaps.

Most political, business and community leaders inherently understand that communication is important. Having a vision or master strategy is only the first step to success '€” enabling others to both understand and then buy-in to that vision is critical. This demands communicating consistently and effectively with those upon whose support they rely, whether it be voters, employees, customers, the general public or others.

However, the real test comes in times of adversity or great pressure, where communication often drops off the agenda. Sometimes this is because our leaders are overwhelmed with resolving the issues, but more often, it'€™s because pro-actively communicating during difficult times can be counter-intuitive. Announcing the '€œnegatives'€ just doesn'€™t make sense. When times are tough, it is human nature to batten down the hatches and wait for the storm to blow over.

Times are arguably tough at the moment. As the economy slows, we'€™ll begin to see more pressure on government and business and difficult decisions will need to be made. It'€™s almost certain that some leaders, especially within the business sector, will believe that pro-actively communicating about hard decisions would be pure madness.

The temptation will be to lay low and not do anything that may draw attention to the issues '€” certainly not to talk about them.

This position is flawed. Not only does it not work, it also misses an opportunity.

It doesn'€™t work because not talking about something does not make the story go away. Accounts of downsizing, retrenched employees, or non-compliance etc., inevitably find the light of a news day. Far better for an organization to break its own story and lead with its messages, than to play catch-up if someone else does it for them.

As for the missed opportunity '€” transparent management of difficult or sensitive issues can actually help mitigate some of the risks that those very issues pose. By understanding who its stakeholders are, what their expectations are and pro-actively reaching out to them, an organization is more likely to identify its risks and successfully navigate them. Communicating effectively is the most successful mitigation strategy that they have at their disposal.

True leaders understand communication is more than just issuing a media release or placing a statement on a website. It'€™s about engaging those upon whose support you rely, regardless of whether the news is good or bad. When all is said and done, when the going gets tough, true leaders know that it is time to start talking.