Not to question the wisdom of the oracle, but might the times have left someone a bit short of faith in the huddled masses? You’re quite right, Aunty B, that DK of D doesn’t have to tell the troops anything at all, and would be completely within their rights to keep mum on the results – and in good company, as rare indeed are the totally open groups of middling size or more.
The problem, though, is that after consistently sharing the results in the past, their sudden conspicuous absence may leave a gap for the troops to fill in themselves – potentially assuming the worst. One noisy pessimist (almost rhymes with ‘journalist,’ doesn’t it?) will be able to fill the deafining silence with whatever juicy rumour comes to mind – and that isn’t likely to motivate anyone.
Your boat having lowered with the economic tide shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, and if the results are that dire, maybe they should feature in your ‘all hands to the pumps’ speech. Given the results are already improving, maybe ‘the light at the end of the tunnel’ might work, but either way, if you put the information out there, you can send it with your own spin, and your call to action, too.
A culture of openness (if that’s what you’re after) can’t only be open to good news – like a friendship, it’s worth a lot more when tested by adversity – you’re the leader, so lead.
Smart Company is the leading online publication in Australia for free news, information and resources catering to Australia’s entrepreneurs, small and medium business owners and business managers.
