It's a very odd question...but an important
one in government. One of the worst feelings
a government manager, executive or
supervisor can experience is that dreadful
sinking feeling that occurs when it is
discovered that something bad you should
have known about wasn't conveyed to you in a
timely and useful way. It could be a
complaint from a member of the public that
wasn't reported to you, but ended up in the
Minister's office. It could be that a pet
project of the person you work for is going
badly, but nobody bothered to tell you, so
you could give an accurate report or
"heads-up" to your boss. Or, it could be
some sort of personal problem on the part of
a staff member that is affecting the work of
your unit, unbeknownst to you.
You can't be everywhere
and you can't know everything, but not
getting the bad news you need when you need
it is a very major problem. You look
foolish, ignorant, "out of it", regardless
of who might be at fault for the lack of
communication. Not a great way to enhance a
developing career particularly if your boss
is also embarrassed. In other practical
terms, that which you know nothing about
cannot be addressed, and timeliness is
important. Sometimes late is just as bad as
never!
Why People
Don't Tell
Before we talk about some
specific steps you can apply to encourage
people to give you the bad news when you
need it, it is good to understand some of
the reasons why people hesitate in doing so.
There are different sets of
reasons....individual psychological reasons;
reasons pertaining to your own everyday
behavior; and organizational culture
reasons.
People vary in the degree
to which they are comfortable communicating
bad news. Some people, for example, have
difficulty tolerating conflict and associate
bad news with conflict situations. Others
will hesitate because of
embarrassment--because they feel responsible
(even when they may not be). Others may feel
that they can "fix" the problem before it
has to go to you. The same processes that
apply to family "secrets" and bad news apply
in the workplace. Unfortunately, there isn't
much you can do to counteract these
individual differences directly.
The second source of
hesitancy is your own behavior if you tend
to display your emotions easily, you may be
intimidating staff when there is bad news to
share...you may simply be making it easier
for them to keep quiet and hope it blows
over, rather than addressing and fixing the
problem. Obviously you wouldn't deliberately
set up such a scenario, but your personal
style may be sufficiently emotional to scare
off at least some people.
If your focus is on blame
rather than on problem-solving, you will
also be less "in the loop". Managers that
are perceived as problem-solvers are less
likely to intimidate staff into silence.
Even your general
communication approach affects what you will
hear and not hear. If you are generally
attentive and appear interested, then you
will be more likely to get what you need. If
you convey the idea that you are busy,
overwhelmed, uninterested, then staff are
more likely to try not to "bother you", with
what, to them, might appear like little
things. Sometimes those little things are
things you really need to know about in
advance.
Organizational culture
issues can also intimidate staff into
silence, and they line up pretty much like
the factors we described regarding your own
personal behavior If your larger
organization has a history of avoidance of
conflict, secrecy, blaming, intimidation,
and denial, then it is more likely that
staff will keep silent as much as possible.
What Can You
Do?
The best way to encourage
more sharing of bad news is to address your
own behaviors. Below are a number of
suggestions.
-
Learn the distinction
between blame, and problem-solving. When
bad news comes around, first address the
problem (e.g.. how can we get the
project done), rather than spend your
time determining who has screwed up. If
it is absolutely necessary to determine
where the fault occurred, don't look
just for a person to "hang the problem
on"...use the incident as an opportunity
to PREVENT further occurrences rather
than to blame. This kind of process
tells staff they aren't going to get
dumped on if they bring you bad news.
-
Consider your own
emotionality of expression. Some people
express both their pleasure and their
displeasure very openly...others come
across as more reasoned and calm. There
isn't really a right or wrong, here, but
if you tend to be on the flamboyant open
side emotionally, consider toning it
down a bit, generally. Why? Because
strong expressions of emotion can
frighten people, particularly those over
whom you hold some degree of power.
-
Work on creating a
culture that values both finding and
solving problems. The best way to do
that is to role model the attitude with
staff, consistently. When YOU make a
mistake, share that mistake, accepting
responsibility, and model the
problem-solving process. That might mean
explaining what actions you will be
taking to avoid making the same error
again. That's what you want from staff,
and you need to demonstrate it
consistently.
-
Some organizations
like to open staff meetings with a
discussion of some "triumph" that has
occurred since the last meeting...a job
well done, or some other success. The
idea, of course is to celebrate
accomplishments, and that makes sense.
Consider though, that while this may be
somewhat morale heightening, it's effect
is limited if there are other unspoken
problems and mess-ups occurring.
Successes do not counter-balance
screw-ups. What really increases morale
is fixing the screw-ups so they don't
happen anymore.
Another approach is to open each meeting
with a "hassle-hunting" process, where
you spend a small amount of time
identifying problems, complaints, etc.
that have come up since the last
meeting, and working to overcome them.
This technique is used in some
hospitality sector organizations (like
hotels). Again the focus is on bringing
problems to light so they can be fixed.
Of course, you can still celebrate
successes, but you will contribute to a
more open culture by encouraging
continuous improvement.
-
Managing
understanding is an important part of
ensuring that you get the bad news you
need. One reason staff don't come with
bad news is that they do not understand
the significance or importance of some
things that occur. Your view of events
may be different...what may seem
important for you may seem trivial to
staff. So it is always useful to clarify
what kinds of information you need, when
you need them, and WHY you need them.
The why is important because it helps
cement your needs psychologically, in
the minds of your staff...it helps them
remember.
-
Related to managing
understanding is determining the kinds
of information your boss needs...after
all part of your job is to provide
information to him or her, just as part
of your staff's job is to inform you. So
it is useful to take the initiative to
clarify the information needs of your
boss, particularly with respect to bad
news. Then, pass on what you have
learned to your staff.
-
Finally, if your
organization has a history of secrecy,
avoidance of problems and conflict,
recognize that it is going to take some
time for that culture to change. The key
here is your consistency, and how you
handle bad news. Make it worthwhile and
safe for staff to talk to you and you
will get what you need when you need it.
Post your comments at
amin@aiminlines.co.th
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