When people guess
“Silence is almost always perceived negatively.” _Rule #120
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When making tough decisions the stakeholders need to know why.
If you don’t explain yourself you leave it up to people to guess what happened and why you did what you did. And if there is anything I’ve learned in life (painfully!!!) it’s that people usually guess wrong.
And it gets worse from there.
Because you didn’t explain your actions, those guessers do it for you–and that seldom goes well either!
The ONE THING for today: The last thing you need is the hint of a cover-up. When tough decisions and actions are required, take the time to explain why to your stakeholders. Do it as graciously and kind as possible, but do it!
When you are silent, the crickets start chirping. Here’s an eight hour video of crickets chirping. I listened to about 60 seconds and it was enough to convince me that I’d rather speak up!
