Delivering Unwelcome News

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The Darkest Picture: Delivering Unwelcome News

Susan de la Vergne

Experienced managers know there’s no limit to the number of opportunities they have to be the bearers of bad news. When the executives announce a new financial target for the fiscal year that will bring with it cost cuts beyond what anyone still living can remember, managers get to announce that to their staffs. When key employees resign or unpopular, even seemingly undeserving, employees are promoted, managers get to announce these events. When new security procedures are implemented, or when new government regulations are handed down requiring even more work, these, too, are the kinds of occasions that put managers on the spot.

The news may not actually be bad, of course, just ill-timed or unexpected.

Delivering the news means answering the most important question on everyone’s mind. Answer that question, and you’re covered.

“What does it mean to us?”

That’s all anyone wants to know. Many managers convey the facts and stop short of the most important consideration in organizational communications of any kind: Audience.

Understanding your audience means knowing whom you’re talking and how to address them. Presentation Skills and Introductory Communications classes remind us to do some fairly basic things: Determine how formal or informal to be; remember to make eye contact; keep the energy level up.

But delivering unwelcome news means going well beyond those fundamentals, probing deeper considerations. It means assessing what your audience is probably thinking about what you have to say. The bearer of news must think through questions like these:

“What do the people I’m talking to already know about this topic? Has the rumor mill preceded me, or am I ahead of it?”

“Will the people I’m talking to be surprised?”

“What will they ask me and, more importantly, what won’t they ask? Will they not ask because they’re afraid to ask?”

“What’s ‘going unspoken’ in this room right now? Should I leave it that way, or bring it up?”

Managers have another, very important objective they must keep in mind:

“How can I make the people I’m talking to accept and feel better about the news? How can I help them roll with change, feel more secure?”

Leaving employees with insecurity and unanswered questions kick starts negative chatter which can be, and usually is, destructive to morale and productivity. Anticipating concerns and addressing them openly minimizes negativity. It’s as simple as that.

Of course it’s not always possible to answer every question on the mind of every individual in the room. Some aspects of the news may be confidential, particularly where personnel actions are involved. But if the employees listening believe that their manager has communicated openly, then saying things like “I can’t share that with you right now” will be generally accepted without resentment or suspicion. At a later time, when the information can be shared, the manager should sure to do so.

But for lack of information, people will always go to the darkest picture. The most successful communications are those that are delivered on time, before rumors start and speculation begins. It’s almost impossible to insert the truth of a message into an organization once the rumor mill has begun production and distorted the facts.

About the Author

Compassion, humor and insight characterize Susan de la Vergne’s presentations. Add to that her 20+ years of management experience, and you get both credibility and inspiration.

Susan’s track record in Information Technology, where she’s spent most of her career (so far!), includes successfully leading complex, high visibility projects and implementing organization-wide change initiatives. Today, as a writer and speaker, she specializes in topics for engineering and high tech professionals, including leadership and communication. Her well-researched material -- she’s an avid reader! -- combined with stories from her own experience infuse her audiences with a renewed sense of purpose about what they do and confidence about themselves on the job.

Her book, You CAN'T Manage Time - But You Can Manage Many Priorities, offers a fresh approach to an age-old problem.