Announcing an Unpopular Decision

C.U.B.E. for Conflict

To learn more about CUBE and how to use, please view the CUBE Overview

Best Practices for Announcing an Unpopular Decision

  • Before announcing, Have a clear plan for how all the impacted parties will learn about the news. For planned conversations, have this conversation in the morning early in the week.  It gives everyone more time to adjust, get clarity, ask questions, and settle into the decision.
  • Share with leaders or impacted parties 1:1 whenever possible before sharing with the larger group (probably the same day)
  • Name the elephant early and fully:  “We decided to move the company to…. This will impact….”
  • Clarify that the decision has been made and own the decision if it is yours. Be clear the decision is final, but how it’s implemented is being decided. 
  • Outline what is still to be decided, e.g. the transition, etc.

C

REATE CONTEXT & OBJECTIVES

  • Your world…
Share how the decision was made and who was involved.
Share any important context or personal emotions. This includes acknowledging personal biases. “I want to acknowledge that I have a personal preference.
Explain what was prioritized in making the decision. Acknowledge in specific the considerations that were not prioritized.
Also acknowledge that the decision will have implications, what still needs to be addressed, and how you will move forward.
  • First, see if there are clarification questions.
For Q&A in group conversations, write their questions on a whiteboard so that they know you heard them. Consider getting all the questions on the board at once and then answering them all together. It can help you order them and answer them concisely.
  • Then, ask them if there is anything that they want to share, e.g. concerns about how the decision was made or about what’s next.
Paraphrase what you hear and appreciate the impact it has on them.
Take responsibility for your role.
Be as honest as you can while preservering everyone’s dignity. This is not a good time to focus on the past.  
  • Identify what is still to be decided, e.g.  timing, budgets, plans, etc.
  • Get a list of all the concerns that need to be addressed and note the people that need follow-ups if their role is impacted.

NDERSTAND EACH OTHER’S WORLDS… THEIR WORLD FIRST

U

  • Explore options to make the transition smooth or to address the unanswered concern. This can be done publicly or handled later.

B

RAINSTORM OPTIONS

  • Decide and fully align on clear next steps. Clarify what is confidential and how to share news or answer questions from others.
  • Schedule a time in the next day or two for additional Q&A. 
  • Share who is handling what from a communication perspective.

ND WITH COMMITMENTS

E

Common Mistakes for Announcing an Unpopular Decision

  • Not being totally clear up front with the decision or the news. Trying to ease into it often backfires.
  • Feathering information, e.g. sharing news bit by bit.  The big bath is easier psychologically.
  • Not having a communication plan in place to update the rest of the team.
  • Having the conversation at the wrong time or in the wrong place. Fridays are a terrible time to share bad news.

REATE CONTEXT & OBJECTIVES

C

  • Not taking responsibility for any role you may have had.
  • Not empathizing with their emotional response even if you disagree with their perspective.
  • Not being able to tolerate their anger or upset. Thinking that they will be logical and be able to hear your reasoning.
  • Lack of patience to hear people out--even if they are being repetitive.
  • Thinking you already said it and they heard everything you said. They’ll likely remember only the bad comments.

NDERSTAND EACH OTHER’S WORLDS… THEIR WORLD FIRST

U

  • Not be willing to explore options for how to make the transition easier for people.
  • Not letting people share their ideas even though the decision has already been made.

RAINSTORM OPTIONS

B

  • Not letting them know you support them on the personal level.
  • Not being clear about next steps, logins not working, whose leaving, etc.  Lack of clarity of next steps and the new future is your worst enemy.
  • Not clarifying confidentialities and what to say when people ask them what happened.

ND WITH COMMITMENTS

E

View the Cube Prep Sheet in Google Doc.

How did you do with having this conversation?

View the Post-Conversation Self Assessment.