A Teachable Moment

Originally published at KarenVernon.net on September 12, 2020

This week our nation confronted a hard truth – the Commander in Chief on tape, describing unapologetically and repeatedly that he knew early on the danger coronavirus presented, and yet chose to downplay the seriousness as a way to prevent, in his words, “panic.”

I remain committed to (mostly) staying out of politics in this space. But having spent the better part of my career in the realm of leadership communications, I’m having a hard time remaining silent this time. Rather than dwell on this particular situation, let’s instead broaden it to a teachable moment and an example for leaders navigating difficult messages.

Any leader, whether of a small non-profit, a publicly-held company or a governmental agency, is going to face such moments of truth at some point – maybe revenues drop and layoffs are imminent, or the competition introduces a game-changer to the business model, or the company is about to be acquired. Good leaders understand the enormity of their responsibility to their stakeholders; they understand that livelihoods depend on the choices they make. In this week’s very public example, the responsibility was to a whole nation, and livelihoods as well as actual lives were at stake. Were I advising a leader in a similar situation, it would go something like this:

It Begins With Respect

If the first rule of communication is “know your audience,” then a very close second is “respect your audience.” In my experience, leaders get in trouble when they put themselves on the slippery slope of protecting (read: patronizing) their audience. It signals, to borrow Jack Nicholson’s famous line from A Few Good Men, that the leader thinks we can’t handle the truth. And belies an underlying disrespect and dismissiveness that is hard to overcome.

I’ve led communication efforts in more than one organization that was facing being acquired, or managing through steep budget cuts and downsizing. I’ve been in conversations where there was concern that being too forthcoming could cause good employees to flee in the face of imagined job cuts or just the fear of the unknown, or could otherwise hurt the reputation or the performance of the business. And yet, I’m proud to say in all cases the leaders I worked with came down firmly on the side of sharing the facts when they were known, recognizing that people needed to be able to make informed decisions about their futures.

It’s About Power

Hoarding information in the name of protecting others is really about protecting the leader him- or herself. It’s a dangerous approach that magnifies an already obvious power divide, in this case between those with access to accurate information and those without it. I studied journalism and became a professional communicator because I truly believe information is power, and those who hoard it rarely have the common good at heart (no matter how much they may try to convince themselves and us of that). Often, this behavior reflects the leader’s own fears, whether about the challenge itself, or about having to face tough questions or to own difficult decisions that must be made. In reality, it’s far more empowering for the leader and the audience when the facts are shared proactively.

It’s Not a Binary Proposition

In the tapes this week, we heard that truth was downplayed to avoid panic. This implies an either/or choice between sharing facts, which presumably would cause panic, and sugarcoating, which was intended to reassure. (More on the utter fallacy of this later.) What this kind of moment actually calls for is a leader who will both own the present reality in all its difficulty, and signal the way forward despite the challenges. 

I know firsthand that the clear, calm voice of a confident leader, especially when sharing difficult news, sets the tone for how an organization responds. In the case of the coronavirus, my recommendation for leadership communication would have included calm presentation of the facts, consistent messaging from experts to clarify the best course of action, acknowledgement of the shared sacrifice that would be needed, and a commitment to lead us through the coming months. Instead, we got empty, false assurances and self-described “cheerleading.”

Timing is Everything

There is an important caveat: even a well-meaning leader can create panic and chaos by over-sharing or communicating prematurely, before the facts are known. A leader does sometimes have to bear alone, or with a small group of advisors, decisions in the making. Sometimes information has to be held in confidence (during mergers and acquisitions, for instance) and should not be shared while it’s still in a “what if” status. But once the future becomes more clear, a leader has the responsibility to share it in a disciplined way that is truthful and respectful of the audience.

Still, there will be things the leader doesn’t know, or can’t share. When questioned about these things (as always happens), the best leaders know that humility and truth remain their guideposts. “I don’t know,” or “I’m not able to share that now, but I will when I can,” are honest answers that build lasting trust. 

The Truth Will Set You Free

As to the premise above (truth = panic; misrepresentation = calm), well, it’s just wrong. When the news is bad, or not what the audience wants to hear, people are far less likely to panic when they are given the facts by a calm, confident, trustworthy leader. The facts empower them to make their own informed decisions, and this in turn builds even greater trust. 

Conversely, as the Bard tells us, “the truth will out;” the very panic the leader seeks to avoid by hiding or downplaying information often is made exponentially worse when the facts do surface. Fundamental trust has been eroded, often never to be recovered.

Every leader will face the challenge of communicating effectively through difficult times across the span of a career. The simple guiding principles of respect, empowerment, ownership and truth will always point the way.