How to Communicate a Tough Decision to Your Team

一次一家大型电信公司邀请我在一场长达8小时的研讨会上，为300名管理者授课。授课开始前几分钟，主管把手放在我的肩膀上低声说：“你开始之前，我要发布一个重要公告，应该不会耽搁太长时间。”我没多想，继续做着准备。然后会议开始，他说：“伙计们，向大家宣布下面的消息是一件很艰难的事。我们将取消两个重大项目，这意味着你们中间有20%的人将被解雇，后续会有更多细节。下面让我们先尽力专注听格雷尼先生今天的授课。”说完他就匆忙离开了会场。

I was once hired by a large telecom company to teach an eight-hour seminar for a group of 300 senior managers. Minutes before I was to start, the executive in charge put his hand on my shoulder and whispered, “I’ve got an important announcement to make before you begin. It shouldn’t take long.” I thought little of it and continued my preparation. As the time came to start, he said: “Folks, there’s no easy way to say this, we’re cancelling two major projects which means 20% of you will be let go. More details to come. Let’s do our best to focus on Mr. Grenny’s session today.” And with that, he beat a hasty retreat out the door.

虽然这不是这位领导者的高光时刻，但我们大多数人都会同情他的屈服。传达坏消息并处理相应的后果是件非常艰难的工作，人们自然想要逃避。一个人要宣布艰难通知时，可能会面对以下几个“诱惑”选项：

While this was not that leader’s finest moment, most of us can sympathize with the temptation he succumbed to. It’s natural to want to dodge the tough work of sharing bad news — and dealing with the consequences. When it’s your turn to step up to a difficult announcement, you may notice a temptation toward one of the following:

拖延。通过推迟痛苦的经历，我们将个人需求放在了团队需求前面。这样做的过程中，我们剥夺了他人处理消息，以及探索回应方式的宝贵时间。

Procrastination. By putting off the painful experience, we put our own needs ahead of the team’s. In doing so, we rob them of precious time to process the news and explore how they can and want to respond.

责备。我们在以一种将责任完全归咎于他人的方式发布消息，声称不同意做出决定的人，并表示支持受到负面影响的人时，就是在逃避领导责任，没有平衡组织和员工的需求。

Blame. When we share the news in a way that puts the blame entirely on others — claiming disagreement with those who made the decision and loyalty to those negatively affected — we are shirking our leadership responsibility to balance the needs of the organization and our people.

分割。就像这位电信高管，我们可能会想缩短与听众接触的时间。我们冷漠地宣布了事实，并将自己与其隔离开来，对抗现实带来的痛苦。

Detachment. Like the telecom executive, we might want to abbreviate our exposure to those whose lives will be affected by the decision. We unsympathetically announce the facts and steel ourselves against the pain they bring up.

与这位电信高管共事的经历，给我留下了深刻印记。几年前，当我需要去告诉一个世界级的团队整个组织将要被解散时，我承诺会以不同的方式处理这件事。我很爱这些人，我知道这个消息会让他们震惊、失望，甚至痛心。

My experience with the telecom executive left an indelible mark. When, a few years ago, it fell to me to let a world-class team know their entire organization would be disbanded, I pledged to handle things differently. I loved these people. I knew the news would be startling, disappointing, and even hurtful.

在去与团队会面的航班上，我列了几条原则来指导这场痛苦的对话。不能说遵循这些原则会让这次经历变得愉快，但是至少会让这次会面变得有人情味。下面概述的六条原则，帮助我在发布消息时表现得负责（承认我在决策中的角色）、坦诚（不为决策逻辑盲目道歉）、体贴（对过去的工作深表感激，并承认该决策可能造成的伤害）和耐心（尊重他们的需要，无论他们有什么样的感受，无论他们有这种感受的时间有多长）。

On a flight to meet with the team, I sketched out a handful of principles to guide the painful conversation. I can’t say that following them made the experience pleasant. But I can say that it made it human. The six principles, outlined below, helped me present the news in a way that was responsible (owning my role in the decision), honest (unapologetic about the logic of the decision), caring (deeply appreciative of past work and acknowledging the hurt the decision might cause) and patient (honoring their need to feel whatever they felt, for however long they felt it).

不要避重就轻。有人认为，小心翼翼地接近我们即将投下的炸弹，就会让爆炸不那么令人不安。其实不然。这样只是在不可避免的震惊中增加焦虑。如果有难言之隐，你不妨直接说出来，然后继续努力表现出理解和同理心（下面的原则3和原则4）。

Don’t bury the lead. Some think that tiptoeing slowly toward the bomb we’re about to drop will make the explosion less upsetting. It won’t. All we do is add anxiety to inevitable shock. If you have something hard to say, just say it. Then go to work on demonstrating understanding and empathy (principles 3 and 4 below).

我首先向我们的团队宣布：“经过长达数月的考虑，对于这一特殊专业群体的可能方向，董事会做出了艰难的决定，从即日起90天内停止运营。”

I began my announcement to our team with, “After months of deliberation about future potential directions for this special group of professionals, the board has come to the difficult decision to discontinue operations effective 90 days from today.”

停顿。由于决定的突然性和潜在后果，大家可能会在短时间内听不到你说了什么。不要继续说下去，暂停一下，让他们缓一缓。尽可能与每个人进行眼神交流，给他们一点时间来消化这条重大消息，然后再继续。

Pause. Depending upon the suddenness and potential consequences of your decision, people may not hear anything you say for a few moments. Don’t just forge ahead. Pause. Let them breathe. Make eye contact with everyone you can. Allow them a moment to digest the headline. Then proceed.

表示理解并承担责任，但是不要期望达成一致意见。停顿之后，我说：“我知道这件事很难接受，对很多人来说都是一个打击。我会花几分钟时间解释我们是如何做出了这个决定。我不期望大家能够同意我们的结论，但是，我应该向大家解释事情的过程。”

Offer understanding and take responsibility — but don’t expect agreement. After pausing, I said: “I know this is a lot to take in. I know this comes as a shock to many. I will take a few minutes to explain how we came to this decision. I don’t expect you to agree with our conclusion. But I owe you an explanation of how we got here.”

要尽最大努力解释领导者面临的权衡，以及指导最终决策的原则和标准。要尊重理性思考的人可能不同意这一决定的事实，不要因为这个决定而责怪别人。作为一名领导者，你是组织的代言人，在你接受这份工作时，就已经接受了这个角色的责任。

Do your best to explain the tradeoffs leaders faced and the principles and criteria that guided the ultimate decision. Honor the fact that reasonable people may disagree. Don’t blame others for the decision. As a leader, you are an agent of the organization, and you accepted a responsibility to fill that role when you took your job.

不要让想得到好感的欲望掩盖了你的正直。即使没有参与决策过程，你的职责依然是忠实地展示用于做出这个决策的领导力逻辑。如果你无法在道德上做到这一点，那么就应该考虑一下自己是否能够继续担任这个角色了。

Don’t let your desire to be liked overshadow your integrity. Even if you weren’t involved in the decision, your duty is to faithfully present the logic leadership used to make that decision. If you can’t ethically do that, it’s time to consider whether you can remain in that role.

表现出同理心。接下来认真耐心地做好情绪工作。不要着急，充分认识到这个决定带来的影响，以及人们可能感受到的情绪。

Show empathy. Next, carefully and patiently do the emotional work. Don’t rush it. Fully acknowledge the impact of the decision and the emotions people might be feeling. 

除此之外，我说道：“现在离假期不到一个月，我想象不到还有更差的时机来说这件事。我真的很难过，让你们分心，无法与朋友和家人共度一段平静的时光，我很抱歉。考虑宣布时间时，我们觉得，更重要的是保证我们的剩余资金能够帮助大家完成过渡。如果等到两个月之后，我们可以用于帮助的资金就会减少几十万美元。”

Among other things, I said, “I can’t imagine a worse time to be announcing this — less than a month before the holidays. It breaks my heart to be distracting you from what should be a peaceful time with friends and family. I’m sorry. As we deliberated about timing, we felt it was more important to ensure our remaining funds were available to help you with the transition. Had we waited two months, we would have had hundreds of thousands fewer dollars to help.”

以坦诚结束对话。最后，发出进行对话并相互支持的邀请。不要期望听到决定或掌声，人们需要时间来消化这个决定。关注他们的需求，而不是你的需求。你的逻辑可能无可辩驳，但是它们激起的情绪需要时间才能发生转变。

End with openness. Close with an invitation for both conversation and support. Don’t expect a resolution or applause. People will need time to process the decision. Focus on their needs not yours. Your logic might be irrefutable, but the emotions they aroused will take time to evolve.

我的结论是：“我会为所有想澄清上述内容的人留出时间。我也会想尽办法，支持大家的下一步计划。”

My conclusion was, “I will make time available to anyone who wants clarity on what I’ve just shared. I will also be looking for any ways I can support you with future plans.”

证明。唯一能让大家相信你会认真对待承诺的方法，就是你接下来的行为。我已经制定了一条基本规则：当人们离开时，即使事出有因，也要尽可能在他们离开后30到60天，邀请他们一起吃午饭。距离不允许进行非正式对话时，我会要求1∶1延长虚拟会议。不管我们对发生的事有什么分歧，对我来说，重要的是让他们知道我在关心他们这个人。即使有坏消息，这些后续行为也带来了许多珍贵的关系。

Prove it. The only thing that will convince people that you’re sincere about your promise of support is what you do afterward. I’ve made it a general rule when letting people go, even with cause, to ask them to lunch, when possible, 30 to 60 days after their departure. When distance prohibits informal connection, I ask for an extended 1:1 virtual meeting. Independent of any differences we may have over what happened, it’s important to me that they know I care about them as a person. These follow-ups have led to many cherished relationships — even after the bad news.

这类时刻正是对你情感成熟、正直和同情的磨炼。谨慎地面对他们，不仅是我们对受到影响的人应该做的最起码的事情，也是成为一位更优秀的领导者、一个更优秀的人的一种方式。

Moments like these are crucibles of your emotional maturity, integrity, and compassion. Facing them thoughtfully is not only the least we owe to the people affected by them, it is a way of become both a better leader and a better human being.