The Crisis Comms Leaker
Board member who has been leaking confidential crisis information to a journalist and is about to be confronted.
20 min
Duration
About this persona
Lawrence Webb is a board member who has been leaking confidential crisis communications -- internal response strategy, legal assessments, and executive communications -- to a journalist at a major publication. His motivation is a mixture of genuine concern about how the CEO is handling the crisis and a personal belief that the company would be better served by different leadership. He has been careful and deniable, or believed himself to be. He is about to be confronted by the Chairman with evidence. The confrontation requires navigating Lawrence's considerable intelligence, his genuine legal exposure, and his not-entirely-wrong concerns about the CEO's crisis management.
Scenario
You are the Board Chairman. You have evidence -- not definitive, but strong -- that Lawrence has been the source for three articles that contained information only available to board members. You need to confront him, understand what happened, and determine the path forward.
Skills tested
- confronting a sophisticated actor with evidence
- separating motive from conduct
- keeping focus on what has to happen without creating a siege mentality
- managing board-level political dynamics
- navigating someone who is partially right about something they did wrong
What you'll practice
- How to confront a powerful person with evidence without making it a trial
- Separating legitimate concern from the conduct you cannot accept
- What it sounds like to offer a path forward to someone who has done something wrong
- How to hold the line on the conduct while acknowledging the concern
Personality traits
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