Delivering Bad News in Good Ways by Alison Sigmon

Author:Alison Sigmon [Sigmon, Alison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780692701706
Publisher: Alison H.Sigmon, M.Ed., PMP
Published: 2016-04-23T22:00:00+00:00

BEFORE JUMPING IN, GET CLEAR WITH YOUR SELF

In Chapter 4 we took a high-level view of assessing the impact of bad news. Before jumping into a conversation about the bad news, it is important to understand what it means to you before determining what you should do next.

This will help you better manage your emotions so you can focus on doing what is right for the situation and not just on how you feel.

Consider the following questions originally posed in Chapter 4 about possible responses to hearing the bad news for the first time. I have added some responses for you to consider.

►What is your immediate emotional response - Fear, dread, excitement, anger, sadness…

►What impulse do you have? Attack, withdraw, pull in other people, run away…

►What change has your body experience in response? Sweaty palms, stomach turns, heat in your chest…

►Are you excited or scared? Path to opportunity, interruption of routine…

►Do you want to promote it or avoid it? See possibilities or obstacles…

►Do you want to host a pep rally-like meeting or does yelling and screaming at someone appeal to you? Party or party-pooper

►Do you just jump in and act or do you give yourself time before speaking? Take the leap and worry later about the fall out! Pause, breathe, then speak…

As noted earlier, our bodies feel our emotional response to the news before we are consciously aware of it. Since we are the sum total of our past, it is important to understand that your emotional response to a current situation evolved from experiences you had long before you entered your current job.

What does this mean relative to delivering bad news about your projects to stakeholders? If you do not get a handle on what the news means to you first, sharing the news with others will be all the more difficult. Let’s start with moods.

YOUR MIND ON MOODS

To get a handle on yourself, it is important to understand the mechanics of feelings. There are loads of other resources that do a solid job handling this subject in greater detail. If you are interested, I have listed some recommendations in at my website at www.alisonsigmon.com/books/resources that can help you do a deeper dive.

In the meantime, we will do a brief overview that should give you enough information to get clear with yourself before sharing bad news with others. This will help you recognize what you are experiencing so you can select the best course of action.

SUN, CLOUDS, OR SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN – YOUR MIND AND MOODS

Quick…how do you feel RIGHT NOW? Do you feel a mood coming on? What’s it like? Maybe it is that happy over-the-top feeling you hope lasts and lasts. Perhaps it is a prickly irritation or a slow boil that has you teetering on the edge of eruption. It could even be a state of calm that feels like a favorite food or plush pillow.

Whatever you are feeling, moods can make or break your day, but they are not always caused by just one thing.

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