👻 Receive and deliver bad news the right way.
Spoiler: no ghosting, please!
When was the last time you had to deliver bad news? Did you do it face-to-face, via email, or a video call? Be honest, did you ever skip over this heavy task completely because you feel uncomfortable with confrontation?
Rest assured, as this phenomenon of avoiding a potentially awkward exchange by disappearing—a.k.a. ‘ghosting’ is actually pretty common. In fact, a 2021 Indeed survey reveals that 77% of candidates have experienced ghosting, and more than 25% of employers have resorted to ghosting themselves.
Resisting the ghosting temptations
Disappearing when times are hard seems like the easiest way out. You might be thinking, “no one will get hurt if I don’t tell them this bad news anyway”, or “they’ll forget about it quicker if I don’t mention it.” Actually, it’s the complete opposite. Most of the times, not knowing is actually worse and more painful.
If you don’t see any advantage in delivering bad news, think of it as a way to exercise your empathy. These suggestions by the Wall Street Journal could be helpful for the next time you need to break a bad news:
Be prompt, compassionate, and equip yourself with a response.
Draft a response ahead of time. Make sure your draft includes these elements: empathetic acknowledgment, a direct update, and a warm parting.
Worry less about delivering it perfectly, and more on being present during the conversation.
Hear what other professionals have to say on ‘ghosting’ in today’s work environment in this LinkedIn story.
Being at the receiving end
Now, ghosting is a two-way game. It could be that the bearer of the bad news won’t tell and chooses to ghost, or that the receiver of the bad news stays silent and just goes away after learning about the news. It’s time that we face bad news professionally, without going overboard or dismissing it entirely.
Stand your ground. Defend yourself when the facts are wrong by presenting a clear counterargument in a calm manner.
Take actions. After you take time to process the news, create a plan on what to do next and try to not be discouraged for too long.
Ignore half-truths. Focus on what you can do to change and don't try to control the outcome that results from baseless hypercritical comments.
Turn the tables around. Have the confidence to embrace your failures and learn from them. Ask yourself: How can I do better?
Process your grief. Set aside time to wind down before you jump into your next plan. Remember to not put 100% of your confidence in what you do, instead put it in who you (see also: You are not your job—or are you?).
Read more on how confident people react to bad news in the Inc. article here.
How your MBTI delivers bad news
YouTube creator, Frank James, is known to create videos where he simulates what all 16 Myers-Briggs (MBTI) personalities would do in different scenarios. Recently, he uploaded to his 800k+ subscribers a video showing the 16 personalities when they deliver bad news.
Some of them overthink way too much on what to say, while some others do it straight and fast like ripping a band-aid. Though these depictions are made for comedic purposes, there are some truths which we can learn from.
Watch the full 3-min video here, and see if yours is accurate!
Know of anyone who is just terrible at delivering bad news? This week’s Monday Mavens edition might be of help to them!
You could also share this Edition to your social media, and give that one follower of yours a subtle nudge to do better 😉