Hello, and happy Monday.
First a quote: “Bad news does not get better with age.” — attributed to Pete Correll
If you’ve ever had to deliver bad news to your boss (and most of us have), you know it can feel like walking into a storm without an umbrella. Whether it’s a missed deadline, a costly mistake, or an unexpected setback, very few people enjoy these conversations. Yet, how you approach them can either strengthen trust and credibility—or damage it.
Here are a few suggestions to try, and to avoid:
Approaches that Help
-
Be timely. Don’t sit on bad news. Waiting usually makes the problem worse, not better. Delivering it quickly shows responsibility and respect. It also allows for corrective or damage mitigating actions to take place immediately, should they be necessary.
-
Be direct, but thoughtful. Avoid sugar-coating or circling around the issue. Say what happened, own your part, and then move on to possible solutions.
-
Come with options. Don’t just bring the problem—bring potential ways forward. Even if your boss doesn’t choose your ideas, your initiative demonstrates leadership.
-
Stay calm and professional . Your tone matters. If you show panic, blame, or defensiveness, it makes the news harder to absorb. Composure communicates maturity.
Approaches to Avoid
-
Don’t blame others. Pointing fingers rarely helps. Your boss wants accountability and solutions, not a soap opera of who’s at fault.
-
Don’t bury the lead. If the budget is blown or the client is lost, don’t open with a 10-minute preamble. Get to the point, then fill in the details.
-
Don’t minimize or exaggerate. Both extremes undermine trust. Be factual, clear, and balanced in your delivery.
-
Don’t go in empty-handed. Walking into your boss’s office with bad news and no suggestions for next steps can make you seem unprepared or reactive.
At the end of the day, most bosses don’t expect perfection; they expect honesty, accountability, solution-oriented thinking, and partnership. Delivering bad news effectively can increase your credibility and deepen trust.
Reflection Question: When you’ve had to deliver bad news in the past, how did you approach it? What might you do differently next time?
Bonus quotes below.
How will you live, love, or lead, differently or better, this week?
Sincerely,
Bryan Yager
“Expanding Your Capacity for Success”
Do you know someone who might benefit from this weekly leadership minute? If so, please feel free to pass along the subscription link below:
-
On LinkedIn: Click here to subscribe to the MMM newsletter on LinkedIn. (Recommended)
-
Via email: Click here to subscribe to MMM and have it sent directly to your email inbox each Monday. (Please note, I plan to discontinue this service in the future.)
Bonus Quotes:
· “Embrace bad news to learn where you need the most improvement.” – Bill Gates
· “Bad news travels at the speed of light; good news travels like molasses.” – Tracy Morgan
· “In the business world, bad news is usually good news - for somebody else.” – James Surowiecki
· “The good news is that the bad news can be turned into good news when you change your attitude.” – RobertH. Schuller
· “The flatter the corporate hierarchy, the more likely it is that employees will communicate bad news and act upon it.” – Bill Gates
· “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” — Thomas Jefferson
· “The truth may hurt for a little while, but a lie hurts forever.” — Unknown
· “Trust is built with consistency.” — Lincoln Chafee
· “It is better to disappoint people with the truth than to appease them with a lie.” — Simon Sinek
· “To be persuasive, we must be believable; to be believable, we must be credible; to be credible, we must be truthful.” — Edward R. Murrow
