communications

The Climate Influence Mindset Shift Gold: Focus On the Message Deliver-er

Andrea Learned

14 Jan 2025 — 4 min read

In a new year that started like this one, I wanted to offer a key insight before you dig in on your usual communications strategy and tactics:

Before you do anything else, back all the way up to mindset, because that is where climate influence needs to take root. Are you ready to really start from a whole new place?

Change Your Order

If you want your company or organization to become a more influential climate voice via its leader (CEO, Executive Director, Mayor), you must remember that building trust is a longer game than a typical marketing or communications effort would hope.

In order to build a more visible climate leadership profile, you must shape the story around an actual human being (rather than a corporate message) who is willing to be more boldly visible. (The leader has to be 100% in, in order for this to be a viable approach.)

Ask these questions: Is that person already authentically connected to their human climate values? Why did they create their product? Why did they get into climate-impacting innovation, at all? Why might they call themself a climate leader / climate mayor? What behavior changes have they made in their household that might reflect a climate-acting shift?

Those are just a few things to consider as you look at what you want to put into play when you think about “climate influence.” The mindset shift can be pretty big, and potentially scary, truth be told.

Delivery Matters

However, when you shift your mind’s focus to the one who will be seen/heard delivering the message from stages, on podcast, in the media and more, the game changes beyond measure.

You see, Climate Influence is about the human leader.

Still, few leaders have been bold enough to see and commit to this fact, even as they may have approved “climate branding” for the corporation or entity. There is big danger in folding a leader who doesn’t really have climate values into well-crafted climate brand message.

IF your organization’s leader is still not ready, this is where the nudging ability of a communications expert comes in: study up and be prepared to rocketboost this process when they are. Believe me, as soon as they see a few peers get bolder, they’ll want to find a way to get comfortable with it themselves. This is how we start the momentum shift rolling.

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Time Is Of The Essence

In mid-January 2025, right at this moment, we can safely say that all of our messages MUST QUICKLY transform, or they are not worth the consulting fees or team’s time to attempt.

The climate message DELIVER-ER is the gold we have neglected for far too long, and that part of the equation holds massive and fast-acting leadership social norm shifting power.

Remember: people look for PEOPLE to trust (not brands). And, leaders look to one another (as people) for cues as to who is “going first.” Leadership stories can help in this process by authentically reflecting the human being who happens to be the leader and why that person is personally driven to act on climate.

No BS. Just real-talk. Be bold. Take a half step more than your peers have. You could actually change the course of history.