Telling Your Boss Bad News

Let’s face it — bad news is a part of business. Mistakes and problems happen at work, we all know that. You miss a deadline, run over budget, a customer is dissatisfied. If there weren’t issues to be solved, we wouldn’t need as many managers and executives.

You just learned or discovered some bad news. Now it’s time to inform the boss. What do you do?

Here’s a few tips for delivering the truth in a way that will get your message across, be heard, and leave you with an untarnished reputation.

Before Meeting

Preparation: It might be obvious but getting your facts, players, and timeline in order, so you can relate them in an unemotional way, is essential. Just because you know the whole story doesn’t mean you have it in a logical, hearable, sequence. Spend some time in preparation before sharing the bad news.

Choose Your Time Slot: No barging into the boss’s office as if there was a fire. Preplan the best time and place for the encounter, or ask the person when would be the best time to meet. Because you are prepared if they say “now,” you’re ready. When booking, take into consideration your supervisor’s calendar and energy rhythms. (Is he a morning person or is he more available later in the day?) Keep in mind, this does not have to be the perfect time — procrastinators will drag things out, looking for the ideal time. There is no ideal time to give bad news, just times that are better than others.

Once You Are in The Meeting

No Drama Prelude: Avoid starting the conversation with any words or body language that might sound hysterical or deadly. Modulate your voice and keep the tone neutral and professional; stand or sit in a calm but alert, way. The adage “look as serious as the situation” works here.

Fair Warning: State to the listener this is important, serious, you know it, and you wanted your boss to be fully aware. Say you want his input and plan on sharing some of the solutions you have thought about.

Make Sure You’re on the Same Page: Leaders juggle many balls. Quickly and precisely set the stage to make sure you and your boss are talking about the same client, project, or team, before moving into the bad news.

Facts vs. Big Picture: This is when knowing your boss’s temperament helps. The more analytical type leaders will want bad news first in facts, sequence of events, and backed-up with data. The more intuitive type will want to start with the big picture (“they’re threatening to close the account”). You’re prepared for both but need to decide which approach to apply as an opener. Without that insight, you will seem scattered at best, lying at worst. When it comes to facts — know them fully, no guessing or speculating. You might want some documentation (limited amount and easily readable). Referring to experts, not blaming others, reinforces your message.

Have a Conversation: Bad news calls for a conversation, not necessarily a presentation (at least initially). Having a professional talk with your supervisor is more collaborative and places the two of you on a solution team. Never minimize the impact human conversation can have on the outcome of the situation.

Don’t Tell Them How They Feel: Avoid saying things like “no worries” or “I know this is going to make you angry.” One, you are not clairvoyant, and second, your predication just might get the calm person agitated. Few people want someone else to name their emotion.

Take Responsibility for Your Part: Own the problem for any mistake or oversights you, or your team, have made. Blaming seems weak and whiny. If there is blaming to go around (and there always is), leave it for another day. The issue is fixing the problem, not pointing fingers.

Offer Solutions and Next Steps: Have concrete ways of fixing or turning things around. Predict better times. (“This is what we did with ____ and the outcome was good.”) Offer short-term and long-term remedies for moving forward and making the bad news history.

Done right, delivering bad news to your boss in a professional, hearable way, can increase your leader’s belief in your competence and gives them a sense that things are under control. It defuses the drama and shifts the focus to making things right rather than dwelling on the negative. Use these few steps as your guide.

Jane Cranston is an executive coach, career coach and management consultant based in New York City. She shares with success driven executives and professionals, techniques, skills and goal setting strategies that accelerates their career trajectory, increases people management skills, and assists them in career change or job transitions. Receive Jane’s free “Competitive Edge Report” and the free audio download “Creating a Career Strategy” by visiting https://www.ExecutiveCoachNY.com.