Don’t Shoot The Messenger, But…

Everyone’s heard this one over and over. And it kind of makes sense. The bearer of bad news is presumed innocent of causing the problem he or she is telling you about, so you shouldn’t take out your frustrations on that person.

But what should you do when you get bad news?

Your company no doubt has rules in the employee handbook about how to handle significant complaints from your staff. But here are a few things to keep in mind when someone arrives in your doorway and tells you something unpleasant:

1. Suspend judgment — any kind of judgment — temporarily. By this I mean, steel your mind to refrain from jumping to any kind of conclusions about the truth or falsehood of the information, its implications and consequences or the motive for bringing it to you. Remember: You don’t know anything. You’ve just heard something. Notice I didn’t say “Stay calm.” Of course you should stay calm. Everyone wants desperately to do that. But sometimes when bad news surprises us, it can upset our equilibrium. Nobody wants to appear rattled, and hearing or reading someone telling us to “stay calm” is not particularly helpful. But suspending judgment — now that’s a concrete action that will naturally help us stay calm and get to the next step.
2. Be curious about “how serious.” The first bit of info you get isn’t likely to tell you much. It’s usually just enough to make you concerned. You first want to decide whether this is something that should have been brought to you in the first place or whether it should more properly be brought to HR or to the messenger’s supervisor. Is it just standard water-cooler grousing? Let’s face it: There’s a certain amount of complaining that goes on in the workplace, and people should be able to do that in peace without fear of someone running to tell the boss. You shouldn’t want or need to track down and take action on every piece of office scuttlebutt. But now that you’ve heard about it, you want to know whether something’s going on that must be dealt with or shared with HR or higher management.
3. Consider whether there should be any follow up action. Chances are this messenger is not the only one with knowledge about the problem. Who else has important info? Is this being brought to you in confidence? What about the messenger’s direct supervisor? Don’t rush into any action, but make a deliberate plan about what’s next.
4. Don’t rush to punish or reward the messenger. The cliche is clear in its advice not to punish the messenger. It’s equally important not to impulsively reward the person who brought you bad news. What comes next for the messenger varies by situation, and there are very specific rules that apply to messages that constitute whistleblowing. While you want your folks to know they can and should bring important issues to your attention, you don’t want to foster a tattle-tale culture that encourages the surfacing of every bit of grousing that may be going on at any given time.
5. Decide next steps. You should have already established a working relationship with your HR consultant and be familiar with the employee handbook. Is it time to talk with HR? Your boss? You may have an important and time-sensitive situation on your hands, and you want to be prepared before situations like this arise.

Nobody likes bad news. But challenges and problem situations come up in every work environment. Be prepared for what to do when a messenger brings something to your attention.