Executive coach, Noel Posus, recommends chatting with a counsellor offered by many companies’ Employee Assistant Program before the process of breaking bad news begins. “Check in with your own emotional state,” he says. “EAP services are really underused, especially by leaders. If you are upset before you start you are not going to deliver the message well, or the person may read your emotional state and misinterpret you.”
2. Understand the purpose behind the pain
Funtastic CEO, Downs, had a clear purpose behind his drastic actions: save the company. It was laden with $140 million debt, but had only $60 million in inventory, he told The Australian. He did not know if the problem was fixable, but he knew that the situation required tough, decisive action and he decided on a strategy to achieve change.
“It will help you to cope if there is logic in the situation,” Posus says. “Make sure you understand the business reasons behind what you are doing. You really need to know why this makes business sense because there is always going to have to be conversation about business need, as well as the emotional impact on the person.
“This also helps with what we call ‘fact, feeling and perception’. You need to have the facts in order to help people deal with their feelings and perception about what is really going on.”
3. Emotions have a physical side
A dry mouth, sweaty palms, tears and shallow breathing are some of the physical manifestations of emotional strain. Posus says: “Make sure lots of water in the room because your mouth is going to get dry, and you are probably going to struggle to deliver the news.”
Leaders need to be mindful about using coffee and alcohol to cope better. Coffee and other stimulants can elevate anxious feelings, and alcohol is a depressant. “Water, caffeine and alcohol will have an impact on how you handle your emotional state,” Posus says. “It might seem like a good idea to head to the bar, but it can be really awkward having a downer because alcohol is a depressant.”
Jannine Fraser, the CEO of career management company, Directioneering, has a reminder: “Pause and breathe as you’re telling the message.”
4. Have realistic expectations
Bearing bad news is unpleasant, and no spin can change that. AIM’s Herron says: “You’re never going to go in with a comfort factor because it’s an uncomfortable conversation. But you need to be comfortable that you can come into it with the knowledge to appropriately address it.”
In some cases, bad news does have a positive side, to balance the negative. Posus says: “If I am giving awkward news in a performance revenue review, for example, I keep in mind that it is good for the person to hear this. They need to hear this.”
