Who Tells Your Bad News

A must read front page article from The Chronicle of Higher Ed this week on executive communications and the harsh economic times many universities are facing. I could not improve on Kathryn Masterson's prose:

As hard as it was to explain a shifting situation, the risks of not communicating were worse. With expectations of openness and a greater number of communications tools available, silence from the top could spur a loss of trust, a decline in morale, and the spread of misinformation about what was happening.

That's easy to say when it isn't you. Nobody likes to be wrong, and no one who has ever had to really do it likes to be the bearer of bad news. Never forget that in this business, they do not pay you for the good days; you earn your keep on the bad days.

A reinforcing shot from Vinca LaFleur, a former Presidential speechwriter, quoted in the story:

People can deal with bad news, but they want to know what's going on. If you don't give them the information, they will connect the dots, and rumors get started. Once that happens, it's hard to put the genie back in the bottle.

That is great advice; however, considering LaFleur's previous employer, slightly amusing.

The 12-points for good communication strategy in the story is pitched with the headline of a "New Brand of Communication" for leaders.

Funny. I guess spin got to be so S.O.P. that telling the truth is now some kind of hot new way of managing a crisis.