Promoting Open Communication

Bad news: you’re giving bad news wrong Here’s the research backed way to do it without breaking trust. Stanford’s Robert Sutton has studied this for 40+ years. When delivering bad news, four ingredients matter: Predictability. Understanding. Control. Compassion. During the London Blitz, people in regularly bombed areas were less anxious. Not because danger vanished… because they could predict it. Uncertainty not bad news spikes anxiety. Brian Chesky (Airbnb) laid off ~25% during COVID and still preserved trust by: Explaining the why Letting people keep laptops Letting them keep vested stock Giving them time to say goodbye What not to do: Bird laid off 406 people via a 2-minute Zoom. Some even thought it was pre-recorded. Brutal. Demoralizing. Performative. Sutton’s take: Too many leaders confuse toughness with sadism Cutting deeper “to seem bold,” copying competitors, or just because they can. That’s not leadership. That’s ego maintenance. Even small control signals matter: A CEO promised: “No layoffs for the next 4 months.” Not forever. Not everything. But it gave breathing room. Predictability > vague reassurance. This isn’t just about layoffs. Any move that threatens status, identity, or purpose qualifies: New org charts. Killed products. RTO mandates. When people feel blindsided, they disengage or leave. What people want in hard moments: To understand what/why/when To avoid being ambushed To feel seen and treated fairly To plan their next move Deliver that always. When the news is bad, your job isn’t robotic spin. Leaders we remember aren’t the ones who never made cuts They’re the ones who made them with dignity.

🌻 Designing For Trust and Confidence in AI (Google Doc) (https://smashed.by/trust), a free 1.5h-deep dive into how trust emerges, how to design for autonomy, risk, confidence, guardrails — with all videos, slides and examples in one single place. Share with your friends and colleagues — no strings attached! ♻️ Google Doc (slides, videos, links): https://smashed.by/trust All slides (PDF): https://lnkd.in/dsq2BAJJ Full 1.5h-video recording: https://lnkd.in/d72b66Qa Zoom video backup: https://lnkd.in/dZJzCnZh Key takeaways: 1. Trust doesn’t emerge by default — it must be earned. 2. Trust means strong believing, despite uncertainty. 3. It’s when system is competent, predictable, aligned. 4. It also means transparency about its limitations / capabilities. 5. AI feature retention often plummets due to lack of confidence. 6. Trust isn’t linear: takes time to be built, drops rapidly in failures. 7. Most products don’t want users to fully rely on them → complacency. 8. Trust requires Understanding + Success moments + Habit-Building. 9. It thrives at intersection of Perceived value + Low cognitive effort. 10. We need to “calibrate” trust to avoid over-reliance and aversion. 11. Transparency only builds trust if users can verify the output. 12. User must feel in control: to validate, shape and override output. 13. Users have low tolerance for mistakes if AI acts on their behalf. 14. High-autonomy + High-risk → human intervention is non-negotiable. 15. Start with human oversight, increase autonomy as trust grows. 16. Perceived usefulness + ease of use are primary drivers of AI adoption.  17. Biggest risk to effort is a blank page → leads to open-intent paralysis. 18. Confidence builds through frequent use, not through “blind” trust. 19. Confidence scores are insufficient to help people make a decision. 20. AI might absorb cognition, but humans inherit the responsibility. Design patterns: 1. Link to specific fragments, not general sources. 2. Show the distribution of opinions, not a final answer. 3. Use structured presets to help articulate complex intents. 4. Rely on buttons/filters for a precise control or tweaking. 5. Show sandbox previews to help understand outcomes. 6. For high-stakes scenarios, design approval steps and flows. 7. Explicitly label the assumptions made during processing. 8. Replace confidence scores with actions, requests for review. 9. Embed AI features into existing workflows where work happens. 10. Proactively ask for context around the task a user wants to do. 11. Reduce effort for articulation with prompt builders/tasks. Recorded by yours truly with the wonderful UX community last week. And a huge *thank you* to everybody sharing their work and their findings and insights for all of us to use. 🙏🏼 🙏🏾 🙏🏾 ↓

🗞️ 🇬🇧 Lessons from the latest « Disinformation Diplomacy » report by the UK House of Commons : ▶️Democracies must move from fragmented, defensive counter-disinformation to coordinated, strategic use of information power. 🇬🇧 National recommendations : 1. Create a National Counter-Disinformation Centre A centralised structure to coordinate response across government. • Inspired by models in Sweden, Ukraine and France • Aim: faster detection, attribution and response= a shift toward a “fusion centre” model for the information space. 2. Significantly increase funding for information defence Focus areas: FCDO Hybrid Threats Directorate & BBC World Service as key strategic asset ▶️ greater investment needed to prevent authoritarian narratives from gaining ground globally. ▶️ recognition of information power as a hard power multiplier. 3. Scale up support to allies and vulnerable regions 🔹Priority regions: Black Sea, Western Balkans, Africa 🔹Focus on strengthening independent media and civil society resilience. 4. Address legal gaps on foreign interference 🔹current threshold to prove foreign attribution deemed too high, limiting enforcement & enabling plausible deniability 🔹 urgent legislative review needed to enable faster and more effective action. 5. Introduce algorithmic transparency for platforms 🔹Amend the Online Safety Act to require: • Greater transparency on how algorithms amplify content • Stronger safeguards against coordinated manipulation 6. Invest in public resilience (media literacy and prebunking) Shift from reactive debunking to societal immunity, to strengthen public understanding & scale preventive approaches. Considering citizens as the frontline of defence. 7. Rethink strategic communications Current efforts deemed to lack compelling narratives: Need credible messengers & Content tailored to target audiences 🔹 shift from fact-based rebuttal to competitive narrative warfare. 8. Clarify and communicate strategy on China 🇨🇳 🔹Defining red lines, Influence risks, Engagement doctrine, Avoid ambiguity between economic engagement and security priorities.

In the past few months, we've worked with partners who've run into the same challenge with AI adoption. They rolled out policies or guidelines without bringing people into the conversation first—no workshop, no consensus building, just documents that needed signatures or implementation. Unsurprisingly, the result was frustrated staff expected to enforce or follow rules they had no part in creating, and leaders facing resistance instead of adoption. Both AI policies and guidelines are critical for responsible AI adoption, but they have to be built intentionally, with stakeholders driving consensus, or they most likely won't work. After working with hundreds of districts, we've created the resource below. Here are the best practices we recommend. Policies are your compliance layer and are designed to protect your district. We suggest adaptations to existing: ✔️ Acceptable use policies ✔️ Data privacy/FERPA protections ✔️ Academic integrity standards ✔️ Cyberbullying policies (to add deepfakes) Guidelines are your change management layer. They are the "why" that brings people along. We recommend including the following in your AI guidelines: 💡 Vision for GenAI adoption across your district 💡 GenAI misuse/academic integrity response protocols 💡 GenAI chatbot and EdTech tool vetting processes 💡 Digital wellbeing, data privacy, and student safety practices 💡 Implementation tips and instructional supports 💡 AI Literacy training opportunities and expectations What matters most is that both policies and guidelines should be built with stakeholders, not handed down to them. They should evolve with feedback, evidence of impact, and technical advancements. In all of our guideline and policy development work, we always start with AI literacy. It's important to build foundational understanding across stakeholders so that when policies and guidelines are developed, people can contribute meaningfully to the process and understand the "why" behind what they're being asked to implement. Intentional stakeholder engagement isn't a nice-to-have. It's what we've seen drive adoption. #AIforEducation #GenAI #ChangeManagement #AI

I was catching up with a communications colleague recently. While we were chatting, she received an email with the same subject line as so many others: "Quick comms request." I could see the frustration cross her face as the notification popped up on her screen. She receives so many of these messages, all with asks to profile work happening within the organization. Program team: "Can you post about our workshop series?"  Development: "Don't forget to highlight this funder partnership!"  ED: "Board wants to see more about our policy work in the newsletter." It's all good and worthy so she's lost her will to say "no" despite the volume. The problem isn't that nonprofits are doing too much work. It's that they're communicating about too much work, all at once, without a frame. Every program gets a mention. Every milestone gets a post. Every partnership gets a release. But, without an overarching narrative, it all lands as noise. Your community doesn't need to know about everything you're doing. They need to know what it all means—for them, for the people you serve, for the change you're trying to make. When you communicate without a plan, you're working twice as hard for half the impact. You're writing posts that get scrolled past, newsletters that don't get opened, annual reports that don't inspire anyone to give again. And your team knows it. They feel it. That's why those "quick comms requests" keep piling up. Everyone's trying harder because nothing's breaking through. Before you write another word, name three ideas you want your community to actually understand right now. Not three programs. Not three events. Three ideas about your work and why it matters. Then look at all those requests sitting in your inbox. Which activities, milestones, or stories actually support one of those three ideas? Use those. Give them context. Weave them into something meaningful. The rest? They can wait. (Or, maybe they don't need external comms at all.)

Performance conversations are more than evaluations—they're opportunities to inspire reflection, growth, and clarity. I've been reflecting on how we can approach these moments with greater purpose.   Too often, we dive into discussions focused solely on outcomes or metrics. But what if we paused to look deeper? What if we encouraged employees—and ourselves—to approach these moments from different vantage points: stepping back to observe like a fly on the wall, zooming out to the balcony for perspective, and then engaging with purpose on the dance floor?   This layered approach challenges us to ask meaningful questions: "What patterns am I noticing? How do my efforts align with broader goals? What could I do better?" It’s a mindset shift that transforms performance conversations into opportunities for growth, even when outcomes aren’t ideal. Here are a few practical ways to bring this perspective to life: 1. Start with Observation (Fly on the Wall): Before diving into feedback, encourage employees to reflect on their contributions objectively. Ask questions like " What moments felt like your strongest? What would you approach differently? help set a tone of self-awareness." 2. Zoom Out to the Bigger Picture (Balcony): Help employees see how their work connects to broader team and organizational goals. This shift in perspective ensures the conversation isn’t just about isolated outcomes but about long-term impact and alignment. 3. Engage with Purpose (Dance Floor): End every conversation with actionable steps and encouragement. Even when feedback is tough, leave employees with clarity and optimism. A simple affirmation like "I believe in your ability to grow from this", can turn a challenging moment into a catalyst for improvement. Performance conversations are a dance between reflection and action, but they’re also about perspective—knowing when to step back, when to zoom out, and when to engage fully. When we guide our teams to critique their own contributions—not to judge, but to grow—we unlock their potential and leave them inspired to improve. Would love to hear your perspective.

Communicating good news is easy. How you handle bad news defines your leadership. Use these 10 strategies to navigate your next tough conversations: 1 – Be a Prepper Plan before bad things happen as you won’t have time when they happen. 2 – Face The Music Don’t delegate. It is your responsibility as a leader to communicate bad news. 3 – Get Ugly Early Don’t drip-feed bad news. 4 – Be Transparent and Honest Honesty builds trust. Avoid sugarcoating the situation. 5 – Show Empathy and Compassion Acknowledge the emotional impact on your team and be there to support them. 6 – Choose the Right Time and Place Deliver the news in a private setting where your team can process the information. 7 – Control the Narrative Bad news and crises are unfolding stories, and part of your job is to avoid that you or the company become the villain. 8 – Offer Solutions and Next Steps Focus on what can be done moving forward. Outline the action plan, resources available, and how the team can contribute to overcoming the challenge. 9 – Be Available for Follow-Up Schedule regular check-ins to address ongoing concerns and maintain open communication. 10 – Create a Positive Vision of the Future Highlight a path forward to keep the team engaged and motivation high. By approaching challenging situations with transparency, empathy, and a clear plan, we can navigate through the challenges and come out stronger. 👇What are your tips for communicating bad news in business? ♻ Please share to help your network.

Real conversations at work feel rare. Lately, in my work with employees and leaders, I’ve noticed a troubling pattern: real conversations don’t happen. Instead, people get stuck in confrontation, cynicism, or silence. This pattern reminded me of a powerful chart I often use with executives to talk about this. It shows that real conversations—where tough topics are discussed productively—only happen when two things are present: high psychological safety and strong relationships. Too often, teams fall into one of these traps instead: (a) Cynicism (low safety, low relationships)—where skepticism and disengagement take over. (b) Omerta (low safety, high relationships)—where people stay silent to keep the peace. (c) Confrontation (high safety, low relationships)—where people speak up but without trust, so nothing moves forward. There are three practical steps to create real conversations that turn constructive discrepancies into progress: (1) Create a norm of curiosity. Ask, “What am I missing?” instead of assuming you’re right. Curiosity keeps disagreements productive instead of combative. (2) Balance candor with care. Being direct is valuable—but only when paired with genuine respect. People engage when they feel valued, not attacked. (3) Make it safe to challenge ideas. Model the behavior yourself: invite pushback, thank people for disagreeing, and reward those who surface hard truths. When safety is high, people contribute without fear. Where do you see teams getting stuck? What has helped you foster real conversations? #Leadership #PsychologicalSafety #Communication #Trust #Teamwork #Learning #Disagreement

Rediscover our childhood curiosity: asking powerful questions 💡 Young toddlers ask 300 questions daily, especially "why" questions, which helps them make sense of the world around them. 🌍 This generally falls to around 25-30 a day in adult life. As adults, our "why" questions come from seeing things that may not be within our control rather than out of curiosity. Questions, especially great questions, demonstrate we are genuinely listening, and seeking to understand someone else's world or point of view.🎧 Asking good questions and listening is the key to effective communication in personal and professional relationships. Dale Carnegie advised in his 1936 classic How to Win Friends and Influence People. "Ask questions the other person will enjoy answering." I 100% agree with that and would also add, "Ask questions whose answer you are interested in listening to". In coaching, there is a special type of question: "powerful questions," which are mostly "how" and "what" open-ended questions. 🚀 Here are some of my favorites, which might also apply outside coaching, in a deep 1:1 conversation: What will you do? What is the dream? What is the challenge? How do you feel about it? What is your main learning? What is the opportunity here? What is your desired outcome? What is exciting to you about this? What is important to you about this? What support do you need to accomplish it? What are your favorite questions? Illustration by me 😊 Extract from an article by Front and Centre Training Solutions. Link to the complete sources in the first comment 👇 #personaldevelopment #questions #curiosity

In which of these 2 scenarios, will a sales rep sell more blenders? a) She nails the demo, flawlessly blending a smoothie in front of potential customers b) Same exact pitch, but when she pours the smoothie, she spills it all over the table Dr. Richard Wiseman conducted this exact study. More people bought the blender when she made an absolute mess. This phenomenon is called the "other shoe effect." The underlying principle: We instinctively know people aren’t perfect. So when someone appears too polished in high-stakes moments—job interviews, pitches, first dates—part of our brain asks: “What are they hiding? When does the other shoe drop?” The longer someone appears flawless, the more suspicious we get. This creates a dangerous cycle: • You try to appear perfect in the first impression • The other person's brain gets increasingly distracted wondering about your hidden flaws • When your imperfection finally shows (and it will), it hits much harder than if you'd acknowledged it upfront I learned this the hard way. When I first wrote Captivate, I tried to sound like an academic. My editor called it out: “This doesn’t sound like you.” So I rewrote the intro to be me, very me in a vulnerable way: “Hi, I’m Vanessa. I’m a recovering awkward person.” That vulnerability built instant trust. By dropping my shoe early, I built trust immediately and let readers know they were in good company. This is also how I introduce myself in conversations, and I have noticed everyone laughs and relaxes when I say it. There are a couple situations where you can actively use this effect: • Job interviews: After sharing your strengths, say "One area I’m still growing in is public speaking—which is why this role excites me." • Investor pitches: After a strong open, confess: "One challenge we’re still working through is [X], and here’s how we’re tackling it." • Team meetings: Proactively raise project risks, then offer a solution. Don’t let others discover it first. Rules to remember: • Choose authentic vulnerabilities, not fake ones • Drop your shoe AFTER establishing competence, not before • Pair vulnerability with accountability - show how you're addressing it Remember: The goal isn't to appear perfect. It's to appear trustworthy. And trustworthy people acknowledge their imperfections before others have to discover them.