Control the Narrative

Like it or not, every successful leader is part salesman. What mom (yes, moms are definitely leaders!) hasn’t resorted to clever strategies to get her kids to eat vegetables? And what man didn’t do his best sales job when courting his future wife? The question isn’t whether we are salespeople, it is whether we fully develop and utilize sales skills as managers.

It is an unfortunate fact that, in the absence of accurate information we humans will usually assume the worst. This is particularly true in business organizations, where skepticism runs rampant with the announcement of even minor changes. “Do you think we are being bought out? Is our division being phased out? Is John being fired - or promoted?” These questions, and thousands more occur regularly in the minds of employees who feel that they are out of the loop. While this might seem frustrating, it presents a great opportunity for strong managers to use their sales skills.

Consider the following approaches to communicating policy changes regarding weekly hours. Manager Number One sends out an e-mail which reads, “Effective immediately weekly hours are being cut back to 35. Exceptions must be approved in advance.”

Manager Number Two meets his employees face to face. “Due to unseasonably mild weather, sales in the first quarter were down by 20%, but overtime is running higher than last year. I’m sure you can understand that changes must be made. The company has no desire to lay off any high performing employees and we feel confident that hotter temperatures are ahead. We will return to full 40 hour weeks and overtime when the workload allows. In the meantime, we are limiting weekly hours to 35. Any change to this policy must be approved in advance.”

Which manager will have the greater employee buy-in? Nobody wants his hours cut, but nobody wants to be laid off either. The weak manager hides behind “corporate policy” but the strong manager brings employees into the decision making process by sharing pertinent information. This is called “controlling the narrative.” Why allow employees to speculate about the reasons behind a decision when you can logically explain the facts?

Transparency breeds trust, even when the news is not good.

Once you get the hang of delivering bad news, don’t forget to share good news in the same way. In the example used here, once the weather improves and the workload increases be sure to remind your employees that what you promised actually happened.

You would be surprised by how few will come to that conclusion on their own! Once again you will have added to your credibility as a manager - and that is always a good thing.

Controlling the narrative is also critical when a weak or disruptive employee is dismissed. It is a surprising fact of business life that employees will complain about a co-worker for weeks but act shocked when that employee is actually terminated. After any termination it is important to gather your employees and explain (without divulging confidential information) the reasons for the termination and your plans for that position going forward. You will be surprised at how much employees are reassured by this kind of factual information.



Always remember that employee speculation leads to more misunderstandings than just about anything else. The strong manager looks forward to sharing factual information with his employees. If he is making good decisions, why would he not want others to understand his decision making process? In the final analysis the choice is yours. You can be controlled by inaccurate speculation or you can use your sales skills to control the narrative.