You may have the seen the commercial. A group of IT administrators are gathered around a conference table. The boss, standing at the front, whirls his arms and hands in enthusiastic gestures, laying out his grand e-business plan.
"So, when can we implement it?" he asks. "When do we get started?"
It can't be implemented, he hears. It's a nonstarter. In fact, the boss's great idea is just plain bad. Every employee around the table agrees, and with the power of numbers against him, the crestfallen chief turns sadly to the camera.
In real life, bearing bad newsâ€"especially one-on-oneâ€"requires a political finesse that no 30-second television spot can accurately depict. In real life, rather than turn to a camera, the boss might turn on the employee or employees who scuttled his great idea. The boss also may blunder ahead and wreck the companyâ€"or the current quarter.
So it's important that bosses hear bad news. The question isâ€"how do you break it to them? We wanted to find out how IT pros can best deliver bad news to a superior, so we put together this simple scenario with two basic questions to ask a panel of workplace experts:
You're a network administrator or LAN manager. You've been invited to a meeting with your boss to hear an idea pitch for a new project.
- How do you tell your bossâ€"who thought up the idea or who is really gung-ho about the projectâ€"that it is not feasible?
- How do you avoid angering your boss, being labeled a naysayer, or otherwise injuring yourself politically?
Simple rules and subtle tips emerged from the discussion. Read on for suggestions on how you can prepare for and have a productive -bad news" conversation with your boss.
Save bad news for private meetings
The number one rule for delivering bad news is never criticise your superiors or their ideas in public, according to management consultant and professional development coach ArLyne Diamond, PhD.
"If you learn about the idea in a meeting, try to get the topic tabled with a suggestion that some research about it might be helpful," Diamond said. "Take your boss aside privately and share what you know in a friendly, noncondescending manner."
When you head into that private meeting, you should be fully prepared to have the conversation, said expert Peter Post, a director of the Emily Post Institute and coauthor of The Etiquette Advantage in Business: Personal Skills for Professional Success.
"The more prepared you are, the more confident you will be in your presentation or discussion, which is critical to convincing people that you know what you are talking about and they should listen," Post said.
Preparing for conversations like these, however, is not always a strong point for technology professionals, according to Impact Innovations Group vice president John Baschab.
Baschab, who is coauthor of The Executive's Guide to Information Technology, said, "Technology professionals often get a (sometimes deserved) reputation for knee-jerk overreaction to any new plan of action. Proceeding in a deliberate and measured way to gather the full scoop on the proposed project will ensure that you don't make a fool of yourself."
Post agreed and said it's important you have all your facts checked before explaining your position. "Nothing is worse than explaining why you don't think a project is viable and then discovering you are wrong," he said.
Emotional rescue
Any bad-news briefingâ€"particularly if it involves a superiorâ€"will try your emotions. Organisational psychologist Elizabeth Gibson, PhD, suggests that you should prepare yourself by thoroughly examining what you want to gain from the conversation.
"Think it through. Do you want your boss to change her mind and look at things differently, or do you want to let your boss know just how stupid her idea is and how brilliant you are?" asked Gibson,who headed a team of "change consultants" that successfully reorganised retail giant Best Buy.
After mastering your motives, "discharge destructive emotions," Gibson said. "Naturally, you may be anxious, frustrated, or threatened about the direction your boss is taking. You need to acknowledge and deal with your negative feelings before you meet with him or her."
Because you can hardly acknowledge every negative thought around the person who controls your career, Gibson advised using surrogates. Let those bad feelings explode into a tape recorder or onto a notebook, or "tell a very trusted friend, who has no personal stake in the situation, but who understands the challenge you are facing."
Determining what is important to your boss is also a critical part of preparedness planning.
"Step into his shoes," Gibson advised. "Based on your experience and observations, write down what things seem to be most important to him. These could be things such as having the corner office (status), never being wrong (image), being well liked, or being well respected."
4%
1%
