“To solve big problems you must be willing to do unpopular things”
Lee Iacocca
It has been a difficult couple of weeks at my job. At the core was how to convey you are doing the right thing when the actions taken are overwhelmingly unpopular.
As a parent I am somewhat a pro at this. Whenever I stop my son from spending 24 hours staring at his phone, I know this is the right thing for him, but an extremely unpopular decision.
However it is all coming from the vantage that I care for him.
I know that looking at a screen for a long time has many negative physical and mental health consequences. He thinks I am just being mean.
However at the end of the day he still loves me and respects me (I think).
How does this translate to your job?
How do you let employees see that you are not just being mean, but really do have their best interest at heart?
Establish Trust.
Trust has to be in place well in advance of delivering any unpopular news. If your team doesn’t trust you, then any news you deliver is viewed through a completely negative lens.
If my team doesn’t trust me and I tell them that because of a regulatory change all staff must now wear corduroy overalls to work everyday, then they immediately default to “Well there goes Robbie making our lives miserable again”
If trust is present, then while the news isn’t popular, you would hope that there would be enough trust for them to at least give you the benefit of the doubt.
They would trust you enough to know that you did advocate for the team and there is a good reason for wearing extremely itching and hot clothes to work every day.
However, it is extremely crucial that you be transparent with the Why.
Without transparency there is no trust.
Define the Why.
With many organizations the Why conversation occurs several layers up in the C-Suite or management meetings. Policies & procedures are made based on this why. The policies and procedures are then pushed out to employees, but in the process the why gets lost.
This is where employees get confused and disengaged. It is in this space of confusion that the stories start to form.
“They must really hate us.”
“Corporate is trying to kill us, they don’t understand what we do?”
“They don’t care about us.”
Just like my son when I take away his phone without explanation. He immediately goes to me being the worse Dad in the world.
When in reality I would be the worst Dad in the world if I gave him free reign over his phone without boundaries. I have just not done a good enough job helping him understand that.
Show You Care
A common flaw with the way we deliver unpopular news is we treat it like a grenade. As leaders we pull the pin and toss it into a group of unsuspecting employees then get the heck out of dodge. Typically retreating back to a place where the changes don’t directly impact us.
You absolutely must stay present with your team during the initial roll out of unpopular news. To be absent after you have delivered the news is a fatal flaw many leaders exhibit.
Being present and hearing the concerns of your employees after the news is delivered is uncomfortable. Most of us would rather live in blissful ignorance and report back to our boss that we have sent the message.
True.
But hanging around for the fallout takes courage. And if your teams see you have courage, they know you care.
Convey the bigger picture
Just like the quote above. Sometimes progress means doing unpopular things. Often time progress will benefit employees.
It is our job as leaders to clearly lay out how, an unpopular decision today fits into the larger plan of the organization and what the long-term positive impact will be of the decision.
Also, it is equally important to lay out the potential negative consequences if the decision is not followed.
It’s hard
As I have learned over the past couple of weeks, delivering unpopular news is hard. As leaders we don’t need to make it harder on ourselves.
Make it easier by starting on a firm foundation of trust, explaining the why, showing you care and connecting the decision to a larger picture of progress.
Good luck shopping for corduroy overalls!!
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