The Wrong and Right Way to Deliver Bad News to Your Manager

The wrong and right way to deliver bad news to your manager #

Excerpt #

Breaking bad news to your manager can feel like dropping a bomb. If you get it wrong, it can blow up in your face and make things worse. But if you get it right, you can turn a potential disaster into an opportunity to build trust and find solutions.

Breaking bad news to your manager can feel like dropping a bomb. If you get it wrong, it can blow up in your face and make things worse. But if you get it right, you can turn a potential disaster into an opportunity to build trust and find solutions.

Throughout my career, I’ve had to have numerous difficult conversations with my managers. At first, it was super nerve-wracking, and I wasn’t sure when was the right time to escalate things. But it got easier over time, as I learned the “dos and donts” of handling these conversations. Here’s what we’ll be talking about in today’s article:

• Why nobody wants to be the bearer of bad news

• Why you shouldn’t avoid these tough conversations

• 🔐 How not to deliver bad news (available for paid subscribers)

• 🔐 How to deliver bad news the right way (available for paid subscribers)

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on Freepik

Nobody wants to be the bearer of bad news #

But sometimes you just have to.

No matter what job you’re in, there will be a moment when you’ll need to tell your manager something that they don’t want to hear such as:

• the project is delayed

• a bug got into production

• clients are unhappy

• you made a mistake

• and many more

If it’s your first time delivering bad news and having a difficult conversation with your manager, it’s normal to worry about how they might react.

You might fear negative consequences, getting blamed, or simply not wanting to disappoint. Sometimes these fears are rooted in prior experience, other times they’re just a projection of our own fears. Either way, these fears make it hard to speak up, even when you know you should.

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Why you shouldn’t avoid these tough conversations #

As painful as these conversations may be, they are necessary and they will help you in the long run.

Honesty is the best policy. Even if it’s tough, being honest with your manager helps you, them, and your team. If things are already in a less-than-ideal shape, escalating might be just what you need to move forward with a solution.

When you hide bad news, it usually makes things worse in the long run. The problem doesn’t go away; it just grows bigger.

By addressing issues head-on, you help prevent bigger problems and show that you’re reliable and responsible, which helps build trust between you two.

Next, let’s tackle:

• 🔐 How not to deliver bad news (available for paid subscribers)

• 🔐 How to deliver bad news the right way (available for paid subscribers)

⛔️ How not to deliver bad news #

Hearing about issues, problems or challenges is never pleasant. Besides the news itself, people make this conversation even more painful by turning it into an endless back and forth, complaining, blaming, finger pointing or simply expecting a solution to be handed over to you.

Here are some of the most common pitfalls.