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Being a leader is hard. So much of it is based on instinct. After all, there is no handbook that covers every tricky scenario. However, this website is here to spell out a few tips for some common scenarios when a leader has the opportunity, or rather the responsibility, to demonstrate her prowess.
Two of the scenarios that trip up a lot of leaders is what to do in the presence of bad news, or in the absence of any news. For instance, you’ve just received news that due to low sales this quarter, employee bonuses will be halved. Or you are waiting for some key information that will tell you whether or not your company is merging with another.
If these issues concern your employees, and they have been looped into the conversation, you should give them updates—even if you don’t have much to say. Avoiding communication with employees because you don’t want to deliver bad news, or because you assume your lack of information is meaningless, is bad practice. Not only does it impede a culture of transparent communication, but it also often puts the onus on middle managers to have these difficult conversations. Frankly, for big issues that affect the entire company, those conversations should not be handled by middle managers. However, in the absence of leadership stepping up to the podium to deliver the message, middle managers find themselves being asked questions beyond their league, putting them in an uncomfortable position. They are often just as clueless as the rest of their team yet they have the insight to see exactly what is missing from the top: courage.
Telling someone that her bonus is going to be halved is better than her expecting that full bonus and finding out it’s been halved when she checks her bank statement. Regarding the case of a lack of information about a potential merger, consider sharing the fact that you have no news with your team. If they knew something about the project, or if you’ve heard rumors about the project among them, you might as well take the opportunity to communicate directly to them, thus closing the rumor mill and correcting any false information. There is no penalty for being honest. Time and again employees are seeking transparent communication from the top. Don’t keep secrets for the sake of keeping secrets. Empower others to know what’s going on around them. It’s a mark of a good leader.
Do you have experience messaging bad news or no news? Have you received bad news or no news from the top? Tell us about it in the comments below.