09/06/2020
This is going to hurt – seven skills for delivering virtual bad news
In our last article, The five faces of return to work, we looked at the range of psychological reaction expected around returning to the workplace. So here we start on the management skills required to manage that return. In this blog, we will start with the hardest of tasks – bad news.
There is no escaping the fact that many businesses are making difficult decisions around restructure and redundancy as they plan how to crawl out of the commercial impact of Corona. People will be told they are redundant, offered part-time, asked to change role or job share, give up a promotion – and the list goes on. But as if this were not bad enough, managers will often have to deliver this news virtually. So do your managers have the competency and kindness required to manage this without creating an ER explosion? In every paper I have read about managing return to work, few have mentioned the need to upskill managers. Are you helping them? Because, there are seven essential skills.
1. Messaging. It is critical that the words used to deliver a message are clear, crisp and concise. A raft of qualification and talking around the houses will only increase anxiety and then anger at the way in which the message was delivered. This is not about having a script to recite (never a good idea) but managers will need to be word perfect in delivering the message, the reasons why and the next steps.
2. Detail diligence. A typical reaction to bad news is to move to interrogation. The recipient can have a whole raft of questions and a response of ‘I don’t know’ is likely to inflame the emotion. So managers need to have all facts to hand. In addition, they should expect to repeat. Such discussions are rarely a one-off as shock stops us listening. So be prepared to have follow-up discussions which might be even tougher than the first.
3. Emotional intelligence. The recipient will remember more about how a message is given than the actual words. Managers need to deliver with a level of empathy which makes the recipient feel valued and understood without such a level of emotion and regret that they just feel worse. This will mean managers learning to convey ‘I know how you feel’ without patronising or causing pain.
4. Kindness. Maybe not a learned skill – more a state of mind. If messages are delivered in a way in which you hope would be afforded to you or a good friend, or your children, then they are likely to be more empathic and kind.
5. Emotional management. When receiving bad news the reaction can range from silence, through argumentation to outright anger. Managers need to have the skills to step into the reaction rather than try to shut it down. This takes self-control and skill – and the knowledge that most people can only shout for about 40-60 seconds.
6. Camera skills. Yes we are camera weary and many managers would love to send the message by e-mail and lie low. But empathy and kindness means looking someone in the eye. It is essential that managers are trained in using the camera to best effect for engagement, keeping eye contact, not leaking their own discomfort, staying still, not interrupting - and all the other skills required to manage virtually. They will be under pressure and performance needs to be consciously managed.
7. Self-care. Step seven is so often forgotten. But managers are human too and the stress of delivering negative messages, managing reactions, feeling people’s pain takes a toll. Managers need to have the skills to maintain their own resilience, well-being and emotional health. They will need support beyond the message they deliver but also in the psychology of leading through tough times.
Next time we look at managing return to work reluctance.
