Delivering Bad News Gracefully
Here’s how to bring bad news–even if you have one of those bosses who doesn’t want to hear it.
We all hate to be the bearer of bad news. Yeah, yeah, they say “don’t kill the messenger,” but just because they say it, doesn’t mean we want to deliver bad news. And yet, one of the most important skills to have is precisely that–the ability to be the bearer of bad news.
Bad news is, unfortunately, more common that good news. If you’re working in a large business, whatever you’ll do, most probably involves coordinating people inside the company, along with people, events, and organizations outside the company. We’re talking thousands of elements that all must sync up to get the job done.
A product launch, for example, has design and printing deadlines, press releases, interviews to be given, articles to be written, presentations at trade shows, product development, product manufacture, customer outreach, industry outreach, trade show presence…and Oreo ice cream cake for the launch party.
The chances are very small of any one person or department, screwing up; maybe 1%. But if there are 500 internal deadlines, handoffs, people, and processes involved not to mention Oreo ice cream cakes then you can expect 5 things (1% of 500) to go wrong. And when they go wrong, they’re almost certainly going to cause problems–because let’s face it, how often does someone end up ahead of schedule, using less money, and producing higher quality, by accident?
And when things start to unravel, you may be the one who has to say something.
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Use Awesome Voice Tone
Start with your voice tone. When reporting bad news, your voice tone matters, a lot. The emotion in your voice will tell the person hearing the bad news how to respond.
Consider it a predator/prey relationship. If you speak with hesitation, tentatively, and apologetically, you just made yourself the “prey.” Add in a touch of panic and, and the sky is now falling. In prey voice: “Excuse me, Boss? I had a bit of a run-in with a customer when I was staffing the support line. I think they’ll be calling you directly.”
If you speak with confidence, calmly, then you’re sending the message that you’re an equal, reporting on facts. If your boss is a hysterical psychopath, they may still blow up, but you’ll know it’s their problem, not yours. So let’s try that again, in confident voice: “Excuse me, boss? I had a bit of a run-in with a customer when I was staffing the support line. They’ll be calling you directly.”
Frame This as Prevention
Many people react poorly to bad news, because they think it’s going to mean more work for them, or that they won’t get what they want. Frame your conversation so they don’t view it this way.
Point out that this is early detection, and the opportunity to get a jump-start on getting the best possible outcome. “I’ve discovered some roadblocks in setting up our new vendor relationship. If we act fast, I think we can make sure this goes smoothly.”
Some bosses only want bad news, even if you bring a solution at the same time. Let me get this straight: they’re willing to ignore serious problems, just because the person who noticed the problem doesn’t have an immediate solution? In what world does that make sense? Most sane bosses would rather have early warnings of impending doom, than impending doom that just pops up with no warning.
Even if you have the insane boss, however, you never need to worry. You can always bring a generic solution: project bad news is related to slipped schedules, budget overruns, or quality shortfalls.
Bad news about schedules. The plan you bring to your boss is to identify everyone who will be affected by the schedule slip–customers, other departments, consultants, service bureaus and make sure they’re in sync with the new schedule. If it’s absolutely crucial to keep the original schedule, then you’ll convene the group, and propose how you can change cost and project scope to still meet the original schedule.
If you’re having trouble getting flavorings for your new, space age floor wax /dessert topping, then you’ll let marketing and packaging know that it will only be available in three flavors, instead of the original seven.
Bad news about money. Here, look to financing. Do other internal budgets have slack you can rely on? You’ll check out supplier financing, and customer financing, if appropriate. If you can’t get more money, then you may have to cut costs. That again means reducing scope or quality.
One word of advice: even though the CEO has a $10 million pay package, and that money would certainly benefit the company’s ability to get work done, never, ever suggest that they reduce their salary so the rest of the company can actually get projects done. That would be un-American.
Bad news about something you did. Oops. Yelled at that customer when you were on the customer service phones yesterday? I feel ya. Accidentally embezzled $15 million from the company’s cash accounts? I don’t feel you. Either way, report the news confidently, and explain what happened, so they can be prepared for what’s about to land on their plate regarding you, and your choice of actions.
If it’s something you can fix, lead the actions to recover from the problem. If done correctly, you’ll appear more professional, before you appear less professional. Early disclosure may act as a buffer for consequences against you. Plus, you’ll now be heading in the right direction yourself.
Being the bearer of bad news doesn’t have to be bad news for you. Deliver it in a confident, calm tone of voice, with the attitude of a collaborator. Frame the bad news as an early warning or early detection that will allow you to avoid problems later on. And be prepared with a solution–even if it’s a generic solutions that says, in effect, “my plan is to find a solution.”
If the freezer breaks down and everyone’s afraid to say anything, the Oreo Ice Cream cake will melt. But if you notice it immediately, and take appropriate steps, the worst that can happen is you’ll have to eat it all now, before it melts. Stay cool.
I’m Stever Robbins. Email questions to getitdone@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email.
I help high achievers change behaviors that are blocking their advancement as leaders. If you want to know more, visit www.SteverRobbins.com.
Work Less, Do More, and have a Great Life!
Photos of bad news at desk, and bad news cloud courtsey of Shutterstock.com.
About the Author
Stever Robbins was the host of the podcast Get-it-Done Guy from 2007 to 2019. He is a graduate of W. Edward Deming’s Total Quality Management training program and a Certified Master Trainer Elite of NLP. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS in Computer Sciences from MIT.
