Admitting you’re out of the loop |Dodging Landmines

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>> Interviewer: An employee comes into my office describing something heard said by upper management, and this is the first I've heard about it. What do I do?

>> Interviewee: So you're caught by surprise. Not a good place to be. The best I think you can do is to say, listen, sometimes some information gets passed to me. I would like to find out more about this. Let me get back to you.

>> Interviewer: Yeah, but isn't the employee going to respond to my not knowing by just circulating the rumors and it all escalating?

>> Interviewee: Well, they might, but the problem is you don't have great choices in this situation. Number one, you could lie. You could act like you knew, but if you get it wrong, you've killed your credibility. So that's not a good choice. Number two, you could say, "Those people on management don't tell me anything, and I don't know what's going on. It's their fault." The problem is, now you've alienated upper management, and you've made them seem disconnected from the work, and that's not good. So all that's really left is to say something like, "There must have been a reason. Sometimes pieces get passed to me. There's so much going on. It's so busy right now. Let me get back to you with a better answer. Please be patient with me while I do."

>> Interviewer: So I've made my choice from your list of bad choices, and I admit that there are no good answers. So I go to upper management, and they either won't give me an answer, or they won't tell me what's going. So what do I do next?

>> Interviewee: Well, whatever you do, two things. First of all, while you're with upper management, be sure you're clear with them about the fact that you need to know what to say because questions will come up. Maybe they overlooked it or something, but let them know. Remind that that you need to have an answer for employees who ask you. Maybe you could just refer them to them. Whatever the right answer is, find out what it is. Second, be sure you follow up with that employee. Even if you don't like the answer you got, remember, they're over there waiting on you. Don't leave them in the dark. Go back to them, and say whatever you can. I'm still looking into it. An announcement is scheduled, if it is. I'm going to ask you follow up directly with upper management. That's what they asked for. Let me know something that they've been heard, and that you're dealing with their question.

>> Interviewer: In summary?

>> Interviewee: In summary. First, don't act too shocked or distressed. Just let the employee know that sometimes information gets missed. Ask for patience and time, and then quickly follow up and get back to the employee with some real information.

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