Avoid Giving Bad Answers That Result in Bad Outcomes ... Like Ruining Your Reputation

Brief 16: Communication and consequences

A recipient of (a lot) of bad information?

“I need information on this...” “What is the answer to…” When will this be ready?”

Sound familiar? Sometimes answers might elude you. You are asked a question and you don’t know the answer. We’ve all been there. We’ve been witness to this workplace thriller when this has happened to other people.

What to do? Can there be a graceful exit? Will someone’s career implode in front of our eyes? Will it be yours?

Risks and tensions rise when that person asking questions is an apex leader. This is someone who is at or near the top of an organization and accountable to relatively few people. These people typically have the power and/or influence to spend money, withhold funds, hire new employees, and fire people. This person can be in your company, a client, or with a partner/vendor. They hold roles that are usually director level and above, sit on boards, or are business owners.

If you are talent (an employee, advisor, consultant, etc.), adopting these practices will help you become a trusted resource to apex leaders. You will outperform peers and rivals. Apex leaders who share these practices with their talent will get better quality information that enables them to make better and more timely decisions.

When I coach clients and do hiring interviews for organizations, this is a reaction I probe for with people. My question may be related to their job. It may be about something completely unrelated to their profession. Such as topics including food, movies, or travel…some obscure question likely to expose a knowledge gap.

How do people respond? This is a high-stakes question. It’s often related to a pass-fail situation (especially during interviews). It reveals how people are likely to act in a real-world situation. When under stress, most people fall back on what they know and do. Rarely do they have the knowledge that can save their job and improve their reputation.

Why is there so much drama with this situation? There is a compulsion that people must always have “the” answer. That something has to be given or you “look bad”. Even when it’s not only a wrong answer, but a wrong answer with potentially severe consequences.

People often panic into making a bad decision when they lack a course of action. There is no road map or check list of sorts. Until now. Here are four steps that will help you perform at higher level when you are asked for an answer you do not have by an apex leader (or anyone). This requires personal courage and discipline. Practice them (with other people if possible). No hacks here. No shortcuts. Do the work.

Checklist: How to respond when you don’t know an answer