When the News Is Hard, Say More, Not Less
When the news is hard, the temptation is to say less. I want to make the case for saying more.
Across the nation right now, school districts are facing hard news. Budget shortfalls. Declining enrollment. Layoffs, furloughs, school closures and consolidations. I’m not writing to weigh in on any one district’s budget. I’m thinking about the principals.
Because when news like that breaks, principals are the ones standing in front of their staff the next morning. They’re the ones answering parent questions in the pickup line. And, for the most part, they are carrying all of it by themselves.
So let’s talk about what leaders do in those moments, and what I learned, sometimes the hard way, about communication when the answers aren’t there yet.
Silence builds conflict debt
When things are uncertain, it is really, really tempting to wait. We tell ourselves we’ll say something once we know more. Once it’s final. Once we have the full picture. I understand that impulse. Nobody wants to share half an answer.
But silence doesn’t make the worry go away. It just moves it somewhere you can’t see it.
In a vacuum, rumors take root. People fill the gaps with their own stories, and those stories are almost always worse than the truth. The staff lounge fills in what the principal didn’t say. The parking lot conversation fills in what the district didn’t say. And by the time you do speak, you’re not just sharing information. You’re correcting a story that has already spread.
That’s what I call conflict debt. Every conversation we put off, every question we leave hanging, adds to the balance. And distrust grows right alongside it. People start to wonder not just what’s happening, but why no one is telling them.
Share the good and the bad
Some leaders only talk when there’s good news to share. Others only show up when something has gone wrong. Neither builds trust.
If your staff only hears from you in a crisis, every email from you starts to feel like bad news. If they only hear the good, they stop believing you when you say things are fine. People can tell when they’re getting the polished version.
I found that the leaders people trust most are the ones who are steady in both directions. They celebrate the wins out loud. They name the hard things just as clearly. And because they’ve been honest about the hard things, their good news actually lands.
Sharing bad news doesn’t make you look weak. Hiding it does, eventually. When you’re willing to say, “This is hard, and here’s where we are,” you’re telling your people you trust them with the truth. Most of the time, they rise to meet that.
Overcommunicate, especially when things are uncertain
Here’s something I wish someone had told me as a new principal: saying it once is not the same as communicating it.
You send the email and you think, there, I’ve told them. But half your staff skimmed it between classes. A few didn’t open it. Someone was out sick that day. Parents heard a secondhand version from a neighbor. One message, in one place, does not reach everyone, and it certainly doesn’t reach them in a way they can take in.
When the news is uncertain, you need to overcommunicate. That means:
- Say it in many ways. Put it in writing, and say it out loud. Share it in a staff meeting where people can ask questions. Follow up one-on-one with the folks who will be most affected. Different people take in information differently, and hard news needs more than one pass.
- Say it in many places. The staff meeting, the weekly bulletin, the leadership team, the parent newsletter, the front office. If people have to go looking for information, they’ll go looking in the wrong places.
- Say it to the right people. Think about every group with a stake in this: teachers, classified staff, your leadership team, parents, students when it’s appropriate, and your own supervisor. Each group needs to hear it, and each group needs to hear what it means for them.
- Say it again. And then again. Even when there’s nothing new, tell people there’s nothing new and when you expect to know more. “No update yet” is still an update. It tells people you haven’t forgotten them.
It will feel like too much. It will feel repetitive. You’ll worry people are tired of hearing from you. In my experience, that almost never happens. What happens far more often is that people feel left out of the loop.
Three sentences for when you don’t have the answers
You don’t need all the answers to communicate well. You need to be honest about three things:
- Here’s what we know. Share the facts you have, plainly, without spin.
- Here’s what we don’t know yet. Name the open questions out loud, and say when you expect to know more. Uncertainty you name is far less frightening than uncertainty people sense.
- Here’s what won’t change for kids. This is your anchor. Whatever happens with the budget, here is what we will protect for our students.
Those three sentences work in a staff meeting, a parent email, a hallway conversation, et cetera. They give people something solid to stand on, even when the ground is moving.
Kids come first
Kids come first. Kids absolutely come first, and that is the anchor when everything else is moving. When you aren’t sure what to say, come back to that question: what do our students need from us right now? Usually the answer includes adults who are calm, honest, and still talking to each other.
You don’t have to carry these moments alone, either. So many leaders tell me the hardest part isn’t the news itself. It’s having no one to think it through with before they walk into that staff meeting.
Something to think about
- Is there a conversation you’re putting off right now because you’re waiting for certainty?
- Which of your stakeholders would say they haven’t heard from you lately?
- What could you say this week, even without all the answers?
Ready to stop leading alone?
Join the North Star Principal Coaching Cohort, a small group of school leaders who think through the hard stuff together. Start with a free conversation with me: book your free coaching conversation.
Silence builds conflict debt.
Here in California, we learned recently that Los Angeles Unified is at high risk of insolvency. Layoffs, furloughs, and school consolidations may all be on the table.
I’m not here to talk about the district’s budget. I’m thinking about the principals. And this isn’t just an L.A. story. Districts everywhere are facing hard news about budgets, enrollment, and closures.
When that news breaks, principals are the ones standing in front of their staff the next morning. They’re the ones answering parent questions in the pickup line. And, for the most part, they’re carrying all of it by themselves.
When things are uncertain, it’s really, really tempting to say nothing until we know more. I understand that. But silence doesn’t make the worry go away. It builds conflict debt. People fill the gaps with their own stories.
What I’ve found is that you can be honest about three things:
Here’s what we know.
Here’s what we don’t know yet.
Here’s what won’t change for kids.
Kids come first. Kids absolutely come first, and that is the anchor when everything else is moving.
Leaders, I’d love to hear from you in the comments: how do you talk with your staff when the news is hard and the answers aren’t there yet?
Ready to stop leading alone? Join the North Star Principal Coaching Cohort, a small group of school leaders who think through the hard stuff together. Start with a free conversation with me:
https://bit.ly/DM-free-call
Learn more about my work at https://dmleadershipacademy.com
