Hi!

Our Q3 Culture Connect panel, Finishing Strong, Starting Smart: Internal Communications Strategies for 2025–2026, highlighted the importance of honest, transparent communication in times of flux, helping to sustain trust, motivation, and a sense of belonging.

And perhaps just as importantly, the conversation was a reminder that we’re stronger together: when we share what’s working, name what’s hard, and support each other in protecting both team and personal capacity.

Weren’t able to join? Watch the full conversation here.

Our top 10 takeaways:

1. Protect emotional reserves by naming grief. When teams face departures or loss, communicators need explicit permission, to acknowledge the emotional toll—and time to recover.

2. Shift from content creation to leader enablement. Equip managers with talking points and FAQs rather than flooding inboxes with more corporate messaging.

3. Use engagement data to redirect stakeholders. Let metrics, rather than assumptions, guide partners toward the right channels and cadence.

4. Provide external context before internal change. Frame restructures or cost-cutting within broader industry or economic realities so that employees understand organizational decisions as strategic responses to external forces rather than arbitrary actions.

5. Name the silence. Identify which groups aren’t speaking up and deliberately bring their perspectives in.

6. Be transparent about process, even when outcomes are unknown. Employees tolerate ambiguity when timelines and methods are clearly explained. Even stating "I don't know yet" builds trust.

7. Close the feedback loop. Beyond aggregate feedback, track and answer specific unanswered questions from post-event surveys to demonstrate leadership actually reads input, and address persistent knowledge gaps.

8. Set shared context before meetings. Spend five minutes aligning information to replace what hallway conversations used to do.

9. Reframe burnout. Treat it as a sign that systems need recalibration, not a personal failing or temporary hurdle.

10. Build peer-recognition rituals. Small acts of appreciation sustain morale and visibility for behind-the-scenes work.

A big thank you to our Culture Connect Roundtable for planning and organizing this discussion, and to the participants in this panel: Our moderator, Stacy Nobles (VP, Corporate Communications, BCBSMA) and panelists Lisa McCormick Lavery (CSL), Monica Murarka (Mobius Leadership), and Lindsay Treadway (Exelixis).

Lynnea

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