Leadership 101: Don't Shoot the Messenger!

There is an old saying that has applied to many different leadership situations. "Don't shoot the messenger!" This has to do with someone briefing the boss with information that he doesn't like. It could be a downturn in the stock value, it could be about an unfortunate death, it might concern how the company or organization of being perceived by the media. 

One of the best things an executive can do is remain calm when someone brings bad news. If you react to the bad news by firing off at the person briefing, I can assure you that it won't take long before you no longer get information that people believe will be perceived by you as bad news. There will at best be silence, and at worst, fake news that is presented to you to make you personally feel better. 

This opinion piece provides but one example, If good men like Joe Maguire can’t speak the truth, we should be deeply afraid.

Sometimes briefings don't provide all the facts or in some cases skew the facts; this was done in briefings by Herman Goering to Hitler about how well the Battle for Britain was going — mistakes were made, men and planes were lost. The invasion of Britain never happened.