I’m told improv is for more than just would-be comics.
It’s for anyone who has to think on their feet, engage in repartee, or even just handle themselves well in social situations.
Two of the rules of improv are to never disagree and never say something that brings things to a halt. So, if someone says, “When I was in Africa I shot an elephant in my pajamas,” and you reply, “That’s terrible — elephants are an endangered species,” you’ve broken the rules of improv.
If, instead, you reply, “How did the elephant get into your pajamas?” then you’ve moved the conversation forward, kept up its momentum, and paid proper homage to Captain Spaulding.
It’s about being prepared, including preparation for the unexpected.
Right now, every executive, manager and front-line supervisor should be prepared for the least unexpected question of the year: “Is the company planning [more] layoffs?” If you don’t know how you’re going to answer this question, there’s just one right course of action.
Ask your boss.
This isn’t the time to figure out the best answer on your own, because if you do, so will your peers throughout the company. Your answers won’t line up, employees will compare notes, and everyone in management will appear to be some combination of stupid, ignorant, and untrustworthy.
So ask your boss, suggesting in diplomatic but forceful terms that you and your peers need to know the party line.
Then, plan your delivery, because you might not like the party line, because the company might ask you to give employees information that isn’t, strictly speaking, accurate.
Imagine the party line is, “We aren’t planning any layoffs at this time.” In this economy, any employee with an IQ that exceeds that of your average poinsettia knows some discussions of staff reductions must be taking place, as informal contingency planning if nothing else.
And yet, the party line isn’t negotiable. Your decision is whether to deliver it or resign from your position. So deliver it: “I asked, and was told we aren’t planning any layoffs at this time.”
Be prepared for the obvious follow-up question (“Do you believe this?”) because otherwise you’ll sound evasive. One possibility: “I imagine there’s a lot of contingency planning going on right now, but the CEO is controlling the flow of information pretty carefully. If I were sitting in her chair, I’d probably be doing the same. My plan is to make sure we do our jobs as well as we possibly can, and not waste any energy speculating.”
If you are the boss, on the other hand, and are part of the enterprise planning process, make sure you include communication in your planning. It’s an obvious point once stated. In our leadership seminar we spend a half-day on the subject, and caution everyone about the very human, but very dangerous tendency to communicate less when under stress.
And I’ll tell you from first-hand experience that when you’re under stress you’ll under-communicate anyway.
Unless, that is, you make it a checklist item.
Three checklist items, that is: Listening, informing, and persuading.
Listen first, to as many employees as you can, directly and in person, every day. When under stress, people shut off information inputs even more than they shut off information outflows. This is a problem (not an issue, a problem) because right now you and your colleagues need as much information as you can get. Especially, you need to understand the mood of the company and what the rumor mill is saying, so you know what information you need to provide to improve morale and counter wrong rumors.
Inform next. As a general rule, be as open as you can, about the situation and your plans for addressing it. Also, in publicly held companies, remind employees of the insider trading rules. Urban legends to the contrary, the SEC is vigorous and unsparing in their enforcement.
Then persuade. Here’s what you need to be persuasive about: That the people responsible for running the company (1) Know what’s going on; (2) know what to do about it; (3) have a plan for getting it done; (4) are working harder than anyone else in the company to get it done; (5) will be as compassionate as possible regarding any changes that have to take place; and (6) will share whatever financial pain employees experience as part of getting through the tough times.
This isn’t hard to figure out. What’s hard to figure out is why so many business leaders have such a difficult time figuring it out.