27
NOVEMBER 1 2008
AMERICANWAY
news, especiallywhen it’s personal. “It’s not
something people are born with,” he says,
“But anyone can learn it if theywant to.”
In case you return to your office andfind
a committee of complainers about a co-
worker’sbodyodor,oranote fromyourboss
that delegates to you the jobof announcing
a layoff, here’swhat youneed to learn.
First, don’t avoid the task or put it off lon-
ger than necessary.
“The longer you wait,
the worse it gets,” Daly says. “The mistake
wemake is we’re hesitant to tell somebody
something, and it doesn’t get better with
age.” Even seeminglyminor issues can seri-
ouslyaffect yourbusiness if neglected.
Cameron Herold, while working as a
manager at a public company, realized that
the cause of odd behavior by people in his
business unit was a recently hired, highly
attractive young receptionist— specifically
her tongue ring, visible underwear, and
flirty behavior. “She had everyone in the
companydysfunctional,” saysHerold,nowa
Vancouver leadershipconsultant. “Theguys
couldn’tdoanythingwithout takinga route
by the front desk.” Reluctantly, Herold de-
cidedhehad todo something.
The second thing the experts advise is to do
nothing until you planwhat youwill say and
consultwith the experts.
“Think it through;
even write it down,” says Suzanne Bates, a
Wellesley, Massachusetts, communications
consultant and the author of
Speak like a
CEO: Secrets for Commanding Attention
and Getting Results
. “And practice it if
you’re at all concerned about how it’s going
to comeacross.”
Haikenwenttotheexperts inherhuman-
resourcesdepartment.There, shegotadvice
on words to say, brainstormed possible
causes of the odor, and, more importantly,
drewupways the company couldhelp rem-
edy the problem. Haikenwas already com-
mitted to the value of suggesting solutions,
based on her experience crafting a mass
layoff announcement at another company.
“Themost useful thing I learned therewas
you never want to come out and announce
a problem without at the same time an-
nouncing a solution,” she says. In that case,
workerswho had been laid off were invited
to apply for jobs elsewhere in the company
and were offered outplacement counseling
and résumé-writingassistance.Thecompa-
nyalsoorganizeda job fair,whereotherem-
ployers could scout thenewlyunemployed.
Pickanonthreatening setting inwhich tode-
liver the message.
This means broach per-
sonal issues after work rather than before,
Bates says. Thatway, thepersongetting cri-
tiqued cango straight home to settledown.
Clearly, a cubicle doesn’t suit a body-odor
discussion, but a sudden, unexplained sum-
mons to theboss’soffice is likely toengender
unhelpful anxiety. Haiken suggests pref-
acing the request with a qualifier that the
meetingdoesn’t concern jobperformance.
Whenyouactuallyopenyourmouthtospeak,
what comes out had better be unmistakably
clear.
Sure, you’d like tohandle theproblem
by, say, leaving a stick of deodorant on the
smellyone’sdesk.But, theexperts say, hints
like thatdon’twork. “Clarity iscriticalwhen
you’re trying to get your message across in
a business environment,” Daly says. That
meanscallingaspadeaspade.Butyouneed
to do it with empathy. “The ability to un-
derstandhowotherpeoplemight beable to
seewhat’sgoingon is incredibly important,”
Daly stresses.
Your chances of messing this up are fair.
It
may be, for instance, especially tempting to
apologizewhen youdeliver really badnews
suchasa layoff, anofficeclosure,oranearn-
ings disappointment. But don’t. “You can’t
say anything that indicates the company is
making a bad decision or is sorry for what
it’s doing,”Haiken says. “It’s a very fine line
youhave towalk, expressingempathywhile
not apologizing for what the company is
doing.”
Another mistake to avoid is trying to place
blame forabusiness failureelsewhere rather
thanowningup towhatever roleyouperson-
ally played.
“Take some ownership,” Bates
says. Even when learning of a complete
business shutdown or a similar catastro-
phe, people respondpositively if you accept
some responsibility, she says.Anddon’t for-
get Management 101 rules such as setting
explicitexpectations,whicharevitalwheth-
er you’re specifying on-time performance
or, say, a flirt-free workplace. Often, you’ll
need to followup to see how things are go-
ingwithworkers facing layoffs, disgruntled
investors, ticked-off cubiclemates, or who-
ever your constituenciesmaybe.
Given the challenges that face bear-
ers of potentially embarrassing or difficult
news, anonymous e-mail by services such
as NiceCritic.com probably start to sound
pretty good. However, Bates says, you can’t
humanely tell someone by e-mail he’s been
laid off. Even NiceCritic.com founder Erik
Riesenberg admits, “I say on the website
that the first choice is to talk to somebody
face-to-face.”
And despite the discomfort, these situ-
ations often turn out fairly well. Herold’s
office hottie, for instance, quickly agreed to
tonedownherdress andbehaviorwhenhe,
swallowing his nerves, explained the prob-
lem to her. “Literally that afternoon, every-
thingwasdifferent,” he says.
Haiken foundout her subordinate’s odor
problemwas really a transportation prob-
lem. The woman was disabled, and due to
a change in circumstances, she had begun
having trouble getting her clothing to the
laundry. A referral to a local social-services
agency ledtohergettinghelpwithherwash,
and the office atmosphere got instantly
lighter. Up to a point, anyway. “It’s not like
I can say Ihandled it sowell that afterward
shegavemeahugandwewerebest friends,”
Haiken says. “But I got through it.”
MARkHENRICks
writes about business, technology, and
other topics fromAustin, Texas.
Sure, you’d like tohandle theproblemby, say,
leavinga stickof deodorant on the smelly
one’sdesk. But hints like thatdon’twork.
