The Hidden Risk of Silence: Ignore PR at your own Peril
By T&C President and COO Heather Handyside
When your organization is performing well, it’s easy to assume your reputation will take care of itself.
Operations are strong. Projects are moving and permits are secured. Your team is focused on execution, and you are busy! In that environment, communications often fall into the “we’ll focus on that when we have more bandwidth” category (kind of like my approach to getting back on my Peloton). You have every intention of diving into comms planning right after the legislative session ends. Right after summer construction season ends. Right after fall conference and gala season ends…you get the picture.
When communication is treated as secondary to operations instead of part of operations, your visibility can increase faster than your credibility. Your reputation is not building itself quietly in the background simply because operations are sound. That assumption is where risk begins to accumulate.
Communications as business discipline
It’s easy to understand why public relations and community engagement are often viewed as tools reserved for moments of crisis. But in practice, they function best when embedded in day-to-day operations.
When communication is integrated into strategic planning and operational decision-making, it builds familiarity. It helps your external audiences understand not only what you do, but why you do it. It creates context and brand understanding before questions arise. That’s important because there is no fast-track for public credibility — even when you desperately need it. It must be earned over time.
When scrutiny increases, whether due to growth, policy shifts, or public debate, the foundation you have built becomes your reputational bedrock.
When growth outpaces relationship building
Many Alaska organizations grow successfully for years without a formal communications strategy. They deliver quality work, meet regulatory standards, and contribute meaningfully to their communities. For a time, that performance is enough.
Growth, however, changes visibility.
As projects expand, public interest expands with them. As industries intersect with elections, environmental concerns, or local priorities, the audience widens beyond customers and regulators. Organizations that once operated comfortably within industry circles may find themselves part of a broader public conversation. It can be an uncomfortable experience.
If you have not communicated consistently during that growth, there may be little shared understanding to draw from when questions arise. Media inquiries, legislative hearings, or community concerns can feel abrupt, even if they were predictable.
In those moments, even accurate and well-supported information may be met with skepticism. Not because it lacks merit, but because your organization has not yet established itself as a familiar, accessible and credible voice.
Silence is rarely neutral
When public attention increases, the instinct to remain quiet can be strong. Leaders are busy. Messaging feels risky. There may be a belief that speaking publicly will only amplify scrutiny.
In Alaska’s interconnected communities, silence is rarely neutral. Conversations continue, assumptions form, and narratives develop with or without your participation. Without a history of engagement, you may find yourself responding from a defensive position rather than from one of steadiness.
That dynamic is avoidable, but only if communication is treated as an ongoing responsibility rather than an episodic task.
Building credibility before it is needed
The organizations that navigate public scrutiny most effectively are not necessarily the largest or the most visible. They are the ones that have shown up consistently.
They have explained what they do in clear, plain language.
They have engaged stakeholders before conflict emerged.
They have communicated during ordinary periods, not only extraordinary ones.
When challenges arise, they are not starting from zero. They are addressing an audience that already has some understanding of their role, values, and contribution.
That credibility does not eliminate criticism. Alaska is a state of strong opinions and long, long memories. However, it does influence the tone and substance of the conversation. It allows leaders to respond with clarity rather than urgency and with confidence rather than defensiveness.
The Kevin Bacon factor
In Alaska, business and personal relationships overlap and extend across decades. Your boss is also the coach of your kids’ soccer team. Your state legislator lives down the street from your mom. Reputation, relationships and trust matter here more than anywhere else. That’s why communications and public relations should be treated as a core business function.
Reputation is not built in a single campaign or repaired in a single statement. It is built gradually through consistent visibility and thoughtful engagement. The time to invest in that work is when conditions are steady. Because eventually, every organization faces a moment when its decisions, growth, or impact are questioned. When that happens, the quiet communications work done over years often determines whether the conversation begins with skepticism or with trust.