Lifescripts, 3rd Edition

24Breaking Bad News to Your Supervisor

STRATEGY

This is one of the most stressful and difficult dialogues you could have with a supervisor. Not only are you somewhat embarrassed by the failure—whether it was your fault or not—but you're also worried the setback could affect your standing in the organization. The key to fulfilling your obligations and minimizing any potential damage to you is to turn this meeting as quickly as possible into a discussion about what to do now, rather than a postmortem of what went wrong. The secrets of doing that are to make sure the news comes from you, so you can control the spin; demonstrate that the situation was beyond your control or accept the responsibility; and present a plan of action that mitigates the damage.

TACTICS

• Attitude: Approach this as an opportunity to prove you're resourceful and can take charge in a crisis. Be willing to accept the responsibility for what has happened, but not necessarily the blame. Finally, realize that your supervisor's anger may not be with you, but with the situation.
• Preparation: Have an explanation for why the problem has occurred. If there were any hints of trouble be ready to explain what you did in response. Most importantly, have a detailed written proposal that suggests a course of action.
• Timing: While you shouldn't burst into a closed‐door meeting and blurt out the news, you must bring this to your supervisor's attention as soon as you can. It's essential the news comes from you first.