Communication+Management

When I was in middle school, I played cornet in the band. I was still learning, so I was just OK at it. Then I got braces, and my playing regressed. Significantly. The director noticed I was struggling with my embouchure as my braces pressed against my gums every time I put my lips to the relatively small mouthpiece. He suggested I try a low-brass instrument with a larger mouthpiece and handed me a baritone horn.  Thus began a beautiful musical relationship. I thoroughly enjoyed playing the baritone and got pretty good at it during high school. My parents eventually bought me a silver euphonium (a close cousin of the baritone) from a friend and classmate who was a much better musician. That instrument has been in our family ever since. I went on to play in the marching band and symphonic band in college, and I played in a few summer community bands over the years. However, as time passed, those moments of picking up my horn to play a few measures became fewer and further between. E...

I was recently laid off after spending almost nine years at a company whose goals and mission I respect and support. It was a shock. I was working in my dream job, completing meaningful tasks, and striving to help both my colleagues and our clients. I looked forward to work almost every day. (I don’t think anybody looks forward to work EVERY SINGLE DAY .) And I had a fantastic team. Saying goodbye to them was incredibly difficult. On my last day with the company and the days that followed, I was touched to receive many messages of support from my former coworkers. I wasn’t surprised by this, because as I said, they are fantastic people. But hearing from them warmed my heart at a challenging time. I told my wife that hearing all the nice things people said about me was almost like attending my own funeral. However, as I reflected on their messages, I realized that they were also teaching—or perhaps, reinforcing—an important lesson. For the most part, these people who spent years working...

In a perfect world, every company would have sustained growth, generous salaries, wonderful benefits, and huge annual bonuses. No one would ever get laid off, and all the news you distribute to employees would be good and positive. But we don’t live in that perfect world. If you’re a manager, you will have to deliver bad news to your team at times. Here are a few things to remember when you must communicate negative developments. Plan ahead . Sometimes bad news sneaks up on you due to unforeseen circumstances or disasters. In those cases, you need to go into crisis communication mode, which I’ll address in another post. However, most of the time, you’ll see bad news coming weeks or even months in advance. Make sure creating a communication plan for that news is part of your process. This plan should address who is going to be told what, when they are going to be told, and what method(s) you will use to disseminate information. Communicate early . The sooner you can provide information,...