5 Huge Mistakes When Delivering Bad News

Perhaps the one thing in the universe that travels faster than light … is bad news.

And the only thing worse than hearing bad news is delivering bad news.

Every manager has to do it at some point.

And doing it badly not only reflects poorly on you and your role as a leader, but also your organization.

Good Blend When Delivering Bad News

But here’s the good news: Even if you loathe having to deliver bad news, you curb damage and get people to accept it. Managers who deliver bad news while displaying dignity and respect for those who are affected can mitigate damage and get people more willing to accept it, according to research published in the Human Relations Journal.  

So if you have the right blend of empathy and finesse, you can transform difficult messages into thoughtful communications.

To do that, you’ll want to avoid five mistakes that can make your message backfire.

Here are the top five.

1. Burying Your Head in the Sand

Ignoring bad news and hoping it will blow over is not a strategy. Especially when bad news is painfully obvious and people know that it’s coming.

That just makes bad managers look like spineless cowards.

Instead, speak up and don’t push bad news under the carpet. When something needs to be addressed, gather your thoughts, create a solid plan for communicating it and get to it – even though it might be uncomfortable, embarrassing or awkward.

2. Sending an Email

There’s little that’s worse for an employee than to have an email pop into the inbox with unnerving news. UGH! It’s like: “Here’s some really bad news, people. Read it and weep!”

Deliver bad news personally when possible – either face to face, on a Zoom call, or over the phone if you must.

Face to face is always best, but sometimes it simply isn’t practical.

If you’re asking for an all-hands-on-deck response, you want to be standing in front of them, ready to explain, make amends if necessary and move forward.

3. Not Coming Clean

If you try to make a bad thing sound only kind-of-bad, it won’t work. You’ll be back re-explaining why your first explanation didn’t hold water.

Dump the spin. Be accurate and honest.

You can’t always reveal every detail, for personnel or financial reasons. But simple, clear, true and balanced is a good place to start.

To maintain credibility, don’t gloss over mistakes, forgetfulness or miscommunication that led to poor decisions and bad news.

Your people likely already know the “why.” Confirm it for them.

4. Playing The Blame Game

Don’t create nebulous scapegoats. For example, you can’t continuously blame it on “the economy.”

It’s important to take responsibility. Be clear and specific.

That doesn’t mean you blame yourself, your boss or your company if none of those are to blame.

But you do need to acknowledge your role without being defensive.

Whether you manage a small group or lead the entire organization and something bad has happened on your watch, to talk about the problem as though you weren’t involved is never a good idea.

5. Failing to Follow up

Once the cat is out of the bag, don’t think for a moment that it’s over.

Now it’s time to listen and respond.

Give all involved an opportunity to discuss how the bad news affects them – vendors, colleagues, clients, whoever has a stake. It shows that you respect them.

Then say what you plan to do.

This is the turning point where life beyond the bad news begins. Great leaders perfect this part of the delivery because it’s all about where you’re headed from here.