The Worst Question Your Employees Can Ask

I was standing offstage with a NASCAR driver — who will go unnamed to uphold the sanctity of a nondisclosure agreement pledging my oldest daughter as surety — and his assistant. He was seconds away from walking onstage to do a Q&A session with 2,500 adoring fans.

Quick aside: Why a Q&A session for a sponsor appearance? One, fans love interaction. Two, no preparation is necessary; he can just answer questions he's been asked dozens of times. Minimum input, maximum result.

As he was announced he nudged me and said, "Hey — why don't you take my place?" Obviously kidding, he smiled and walked out to bask in thunderous applause.

His assistant leaned sideways and yelled in my ear, "You know… it wouldn't have been that bad if you had gone out there. You would have gotten at least one question."

"Really?" I said.

She smiled. "Absolutely: Who in the (heck) are you?"

Good question, and one we should often ask ourselves. Think about meetings you lead, presentations you give, or announcements you make: Are you the right person to speak? If your answer is based on some version of, "Yes, because I'm the one in charge," your answer is often wrong — and your audience knows it.

Here's a better way to decide.

When you deliver good news: Never speak. Okay, maybe you really did do all the work. Maybe you really did overcome every obstacle. Maybe you really did lead a diverse, cross-departmental, multi-functional, high-performance team. Maybe you really were the hero.

Doesn't matter. Give someone else the glory. Pick a key subordinate who played a major role. Pick a person who could use a confidence boost from a dose of public acclaim. Everyone already knows you were in charge, so celebrate the accomplishment through others. Stand back and let your team shine.

And if you don't run your own business, do your best to keep someone higher in the company food chain from making the announcement, especially if that person had no direct role. Otherwise your team's efforts are devalued in the eyes of the eyes of others and, much worse, in their own eyes.

When you deliver bad news: Always speak. I don't care if ultimately it was not your decision to cut jobs. I don't care if you had no input but are still required to enforce a major shift in policy. When you are in charge, you deliver all bad news. To your employees, to your team, to customers and clients, you are the company. Support decisions, even if you privately disagree. Answer tough questions. Take responsibility. Model the behavior you want your employees to display.

When you have no news: No one speaks. Everyone hates a useless meeting — except the person who called the meeting. We all cringe when a meeting kicks off with, "I know there isn't much for us to talk about, but I thought it was important we still meet."

I once worked on a long-term project with four regularly scheduled, hour-long meetings per week. We met, no matter what, because the team leader felt we needed to "develop the habit" of attending regular meetings. In the spirit of habit formation, I decided to develop my own: I showed up but was frequently called away mid-meeting. (To all the people who paged me right on cue — thanks!)

If a meeting will not result in decisions or plans or actions, cancel it. Let team members do something productive so next time you do have a reason to meet.

No matter the setting, take a moment to choose the right person to speak. Never assume the right person is you.

What is said is certainly important, but who says it can make a tremendous difference to the impact of the message… and sometimes to your employees.

Thanks to Jeff Haden / BNet
http://www.bnet.com/blog/small-biz-advice/the-worst-question-your-employees-can-ask/1586