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How Good People Can Deliver Bad News at Work

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Written by Sarah Colomé

Something has gone terribly wrong at work. (It happens.) You’re terrified about telling your manager. (That also happens.) Breaking bad news to your boss can feel like you’re the designated driver on girls’ night out — while it’s not easy, someone has to take the hit.

However, if you take a closer look at this situation, you may find it’s a blessing in disguise for your career.

Employers are looking for contributors who know how to think on their feet, adapt quickly and  communicate effectively. If you reframe a work nightmare by offering timely, useful, well-researched solutions, you’ll demonstrate that you’re not only a smart thinker, but also a doer with management potential.

So, when that moment strikes and you have to break bad news to the person who decides your fate, consider these three strategies:

1) Bring the whole story to the table

Rushing to squeal that the keynote speaker for your annual conference just dissed your company on social media isn’t going to improve the situation.

Before you make a move, consider your source of information. Is this a credible individual or channel? Repeating uninformed, disruptive information only adds to the chaos. Research the facts (quickly!) so you can provide decision makers with relevant context. Your extra legwork can help them make an informed choice about how to proceed.

Knowing details helps frame the situation, allows for a better decision making process and makes you look like a mature, level-headed colleague rather than an reactive tattletale.

2) Think and speak objectively

Taking sides and passing blame does nothing to solve the problem. Instead, you’ll only paint yourself in a negative and self-serving manner — the complete opposite of what you want.

While this doesn’t mean you should hide pertinent information you have about the problem, you also don’t need to wrap a particular person up in a bow and pin them to a bull’s eye.

Pointing fingers isn’t necessary to solving the immediate problem. If necessary at all, it should be set aside until a solution has been found. Focusing on the fixing the problem helps you avoid looking like you’re stepping on another employee to make yourself look good. Plus, you’ll protect your working relationships with all parties involved — including the idiot who ordered 200 bottles of pineapple juice instead of Pinot Grigio for the donor banquet. Besides, if someone on the crew is truly inept, their actions will speak for themselves.

3) Offer problem-solving options

Showing up empty-handed to announce bad news accomplishes nothing. You need ammo. Prepare to suggest possible next-step ideas, so you’re less likely to become the target of a manager’s negative reaction.

Your goal is to avoid adding more stress to a difficult situation, by being ready to offer viable options. Research alternatives that save time or money, and assess the likely outcomes, so you can help determine a workable plan of action.

But keep in mind that offering effective solutions requires more than just a Google search and a few thrown-together spreadsheets. No solution can be implemented without investing employee energy, so assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for each path. This approach can help your manager avoid costly missteps — while simultaneously portraying you as a proactive, strategic thinker.

Delivering bad news is never easy, but reframing a negative work situation into a positive professional opportunity can be beneficial both for you and your company.

The next time someone accidentally sends detailed employee compensation data to everyone in your company, don’t fret. Get the whole story, be objective and come with a solution in hand.

Have you stepped up when there was a melt-down at work? How did you deliver the news — and did it help you grow in your career? Share your experiences in the comments area.

Sarah Colome (2)(About the Author: Sarah Colomé, M.S. is an educator, advocate and the SOARS Booking Director for A Long Walk Home, Inc. Based in Chicago, Sarah has traveled both nationally and internationally as a competitive collegiate public speaker. She teaches on topics related to social justice and diversity, health education, sexual violence and persuasive speaking. Connect with her on Twitter.)

(Editor’s Note: This post is adapted from Brazen Life, with permission. Brazen Life is a lifestyle and career blog for ambitious young professionals. Hosted by Brazen Careerist, it offers edgy and fun ideas for navigating the changing world of work. Be Brazen!)

(Also Note: To discuss World of Work topics like this with others in the TalentCulture community, join our online #TChat Events every Wednesday, from 6:30-8pm ET. Everyone is welcome at events, or join our ongoing Twitter conversation anytime. Learn more…)


Image Credit: Mugley via Flickr

You 2.0: Reinventing a Personal Brand #TChat Preview

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(Editor’s Note: Looking for a complete review of the week’s events and resources? Read the #TChat Recap: “Will the Real You Please Stand Up?”)

Here’s Looking at You, Kid

Most of us are familiar with the concept of personal branding. We understand how important it is to put our “best face forward,” especially during a job search. (Our mothers told us about that long ago.) And you don’t have to be Kim Kardashian to see that social media shines a constant spotlight on our lives, for better or worse. So…why don’t more of us cultivate our personal brands as carefully as a marketing manager would?

Creating a Fresh Perspective

Reinventing You

Learn more about “Reinventing You”

Is your online presence incomplete or out-of-date? Do you suspect it sends the wrong message? Are you considering a career change, but struggling with how to reposition yourself for a new role? What’s the best way to recombine all the elements for a message that is accurate, authentic and attracts the right kind of attention?

That’s our focus this week in the TalentCulture community, as we continue our “summer restart” series with the author of of Reinventing You, Dorie Clark. Dorie is a communications and brand management expert who has written extensively about this topic. And we’re fortunate that she’s sharing her insights with us throughout the week.

To set the stage, Dorie joined me for a brief G+ Hangout to discuss why personal brand management matters, not just during a job search, but on a continuous basis:

The article Dorie mentions is great preparation for this week’s #TChat discussions. Check it out at Harvard Business Review: It’s Not a Job Search, It’s a Campaign. Also, if you’d like to read related articles from the TalentCulture archives, see “Mindfully Managing Your Personal Brand” and “Personal Re-Branding For Chareer Changers.”

#TChat Events: Reinventing Your Brand

Don’t forget to save the date — Wednesday July 17 — for a #TChat double-header that is designed to change your professional life for the better. Bring your questions, concerns, ideas and suggestions, and let’s talk!

#TChat Radio — Wed, July 17 at 6:30pmET / 3:30pmPT

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Listen to the #TChat Radio show

Dorie joins our hosts, Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman for a closer look at why and how professionals can benefit from personal branding. Listen live and dial-in with your questions and feedback!

#TChat Twitter — Wed, July 17 at 7pmET / 4pmPT

Immediately following the radio show, our conversation with Dorie opens wide, as she moderates our community discussion on the #TChat stream. We welcome anyone with a Twitter account to join us, as we discuss these questions:

Q1:  You are the captains of your own career destiny. Why or why not?
Q2:  What should your first priorities be when reinventing your personal brand?
Q3:  Does it make a difference if you’re a full-time, part-time or contract worker? Why/why not?
Q4:  How can business leaders facilitate ongoing career development, inside and out?
Q5:  What technologies today help us reinvent ourselves? How/why?

Throughout the week, we’ll keep the discussion going on the #TChat Twitter feed and on our new LinkedIn Discussion Group. So please join us share your questions, ideas and opinions.

We’ll see you on the stream!

 

Becoming (Social) HR Leaders: #TChat Preview

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HR means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To me it’s been my career. I’m not sure how else to write this in the moment. I have a lot of respect for HR practitioners that are KICKING it in the trenches every day.

Ask someone on the street and they’ll say, “The lady who tells me I’m hired, gives me my employee handbook and sets up my benefits.” Ask someone inside a company and they’ll say, “The guy who tells me I’m hired, gives me my employee handbook and sets up my benefits.” Ask executive management and they’ll say, “The lady who tells me I’m hired, gives me my employee handbook and sets up my benefits.”

Wait, what? This cannot be….HR is so much more. And yes, this includes talent management and employer branding and…marketing and CEOs. We are all uniting and becoming social. This pretty much includes many different units in the workplace. Why we call #TChat The World of Work. It’s everyone.

Unfortunately lots of people (still) dislike HR departments and many still view them as the office caricature, the resume screener, back office administrator and compliance office police officer that nobody wants to work with, one of the grim realities HR pros deal with on a daily basis. The reality is so many more also know how to keep the hiring pipeline full, how to help deal with difficult or disruptive employees, and how to build and sustain an attractive workplace culture.

But let’s be honest: HR is usually seen less as curators of workplace culture and more as the police brought in to direct traffic or quell a riot. So how do we change it up? What can we do to be seen as core to the management team, positive influences, trusted partners committed to building a rewarding and resilient workplace?

Sociable vs Social – There’s a Big Difference

The key for HR is to become more human; to be more social. This doesn’t mean office birthday parties or the annual holiday party or having a beer with the work gang after work. What it means is that we have to stop focusing on managing risk and start focusing on creating and sustaining social interactions in the workplace — to hiring responsible and accountable employees who communicate and collaborate and all the other buzz “c” words you can think of, as well as doing their jobs (and then some) to help the business grow and thrive.

We have to drop the game face and show our human side. People, after all, work for people, follow people to jobs, leave jobs because of people. We have to be people before we can lead.

Right?

In the interests of exploring what it means to be more human on the HR job and how that pays dividends in small business and the enterprise, we’ve decided to look at what it takes to become social HR leaders in this week’s TalentCulture #TChat World of Work. From using social technologies and tools to spark disruptive change in the workplace to dissecting the qualities of leadership, we’re eager to hear what the community of chatters thinks about what it takes to be a social HR leader.

Susan Avello (@SusanAvello), someone who knows a thing or two about social HR, will be our guest moderator. Alongside her, to field your tweets, will be yours truly (@MeghanMBiro) and Kevin W. Grossman (@KevinWGrossman), as well as Sean Charles (@SocialMediaSean), Salima Nathoo (@SocialSalima) and Brent Skinner (@BrentSkinner). Be sure to join us at 7 PM EST / 4 PM PDT!

This will also be a preview to our first-ever World of Work live #TChat Session at the 13th Annual Illinois HR Conference & Exposition, one of the many HR Super Social Hero events that occur throughout the year. I want to personally thank Dave Ryan (@DaveTheHRCzar), Susan Avello (@SusanAvello),  Donna Rogers (@DonnaRogersHR), John Jorgensen (@jkjhr), and many , many other friends who have always supported our efforts to make the World of Work more social. I like hanging out my friends in the trenches and it all starts with #ILSHRM coming up next week August 5-7, 2012. Our live session will be Monday, August 6, from 5-6 pm CST. I’m honored to be here with many of my friends and colleagues.

Here are the questions we’ll be discussing in this week’s #TChat (and next week at #ILSHRM):

  • Q1: In HR and the world of work, what does it mean to do the opposite of what’s been done to spark disruptive change?
  • Q2: What are the traits that make for a great HR pro?
  • Q3: How do great leaders lead in business today and why?
  • Q4: What are the cool new HR technology tools and why?
  • Q5: Where does social media make sense as an HR and recruiting tool and why?
So join us tonight, Wednesday, August 1, and if you’re in Chicago starting on August 5, come see us at the Illinois State SHRM session! Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman look forward to discussing the above questions with our esteemed panel:
Geoff Webb (@SocialHRGuy) and Salima Nathoo (@SocialSalima) will be our special live audience moderators — because like our weekly online #TChat, this session’s all about participation and inclusion — for everybody. Let’s be inclusive and social. We can do this.

 Image Credit: Stock.xchng