Nobody likes to be the bearer of bad news. But mistakes happen and things go wrong, and sometimes, difficult messages must be delivered.
How do successful leaders share bad news and manage workplace crises?
“It’s really important that there be open, transparent communications, because employees will know when you’re lying,” said Mary Beth Hartleb, CEO of Prism Global Management Group in Henderson, a human resources consultancy.
“Keep in mind that you’re trying to maintain as much trust as you can among the rank and file while also trying to protect your reputation and integrity.”
Hartleb, who earned a law degree from UNLV and a master’s degree in human resource management, says there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to breaking bad news or coping with a crisis, but there are a few tips you can keep in mind if you are the messenger.
Don’t procrastinate
Don’t put off a potentially awkward or embarrassing company announcement hoping conditions may improve. Bad news delayed can be bad news compounded, author Robert Bies writes in “The 10 Commandments for Delivering Bad News.”
“Delivering bad news with due speed … is critically important,” he writes. “Many people sit on bad news, (but) such delays are costly, as conditions can continue to worsen.”
Instead, formulate a plan for communicating with employees, both to establish trust and to prevent gossip, rumors and conjecture.
Get the word out
Have you ever played the grade-school game “Telephone”? You whisper a sentence in someone’s ear — for example, “Our company may experience minor temporary layoffs and a strategic change in in-house management” — then that person passes the message around the circle until the final recipient reveals how distorted the facts have become: “Everyone is getting fired, and we’re bringing in trained monkeys to run the show.”
Nip this in the bud, Hartleb advises, by delivering bad news quickly and conveying a consistent message to as many employees as possible.
“You want to be able to control the message and craft a consistent delivery that can roll down through the organization and (discourage) negative speak,” Hartleb said.
Also, don’t spin bad news. Lying will compromise your credibility and provide fodder for critics when the truth comes out. Moreover, candor can disarm naysayers.
Don’t play the blame game
If something bad happened on your watch, accept responsibility, author Erika Andersen writes in a column for Forbes.
She cites the apology of JetBlue founder and CEO David Neeleman after customers were stranded on the tarmac for several hours. Neeleman wrote, “Words cannot express how truly sorry we are for the anxiety, frustration and inconvenience that we caused. This is especially saddening because JetBlue was founded on the promise of bringing humanity back to air travel and making the experience of flying happier and easier for everyone who chooses to fly with us. We know we failed to deliver on this promise.”
Said Andersen: “I want to work for him just on the basis of that paragraph.”
Present a course of action and stick to it
When bringing bad news to the table, always present solutions to the problems that led to the trouble. For example, if your company lost a major client to a competitor, discuss ideas for attracting new business and maintaining existing customers.
“Bad news without solutions is truly bad news,” Bies writes. “Bad news involves cleaning up a mess. After cleaning, let everyone know.”
Listen
Andersen once sat in on a meeting in which a regional vice president for a large consumer goods company informed employees they’d be expected to take on additional work. When they got upset and wanted to vent and ask questions, the executive cut them off by saying, “It’s no use to moan — let’s just make it happen.”
That wasn’t a smart approach, Andersen said.
“If you share bad news and then aren’t willing to take in the response, it feels as though you’re throwing something nasty on their desks and walking away,” she said.
Manage social media
Get in front of the story with social media.
“In this day and age of social media, for anyone … to think they can outfox the public is beyond stupid,” crisis management expert Gary Rosen said. “The facts always make their way out.”