I want to talk about dirty laundry. Why is it a secret? Dirty laundry is smelly, stained, and sometimes uncomfortable. And why is it uncomfortable to wear? Because something about it makes one feel ashamed. And that’s what I want to focus on here. When people think about identifying risks within their own department, they can be hesitant. They hide, deflect, scapegoat, or minimize risk because they don’t want people to think they’ve messed up or should have “seen it coming”. Unfortunately, as a risk manager, I’ve seen people hesitate to share their concerns because it feels like they are hanging out stained undies for all to see.
“I don’t want my boss to know.” “I should have thought of this earlier” “But it’s really not my problem.” All common phrases I’ve heard over the years – the excuses that people make to not bring up a potential issue to the risk boards, or meetings of subject matter experts to identify and evaluate risk together. In these risk boards, the bosses have a say also, and that’s where the role of dirty laundry comes into play.
“I should have thought of this earlier…” “I don’t want my boss to know.” “It’s not really my problem”
If leadership is untrained and unaware, this could be a shameful experience for the person sharing their concern. However, I seek to train (and implore) decision makers to put aside any impulse to shame and blame the bearers of bad news and listen. Don’t make them feel like they are holding out their week-old socks for you to smell. They are bringing up potential issues because they care about the cause, the mission, the product. They love what they do and they want to make it better. Regardless if it’s “their fault” or their colleague’s issue, bringing these discussions to light makes for a more transparent, efficient, and team-oriented machine. Feel grateful they trust you with their worries, because ultimately, “they,” your collective team, know a whole lot more about the details of your organization than you do. They are problem finders and your problem solvers.
When I teach staff at various companies, I give permission to be courageous in what they share. “In an ideal world, what would you like to have seen done instead?” This is a good place to start: a phrase that shifts the blame to the circumstances, rather than the subject matter expert themselves. “What keeps you up at night?” is the second best question to ask. Hopefully, work-life balance is so harmonious the answer is “nothing.” But this would be an aberration at best. Your employees are thinking and talking about something at the watercooler, something that’s bugging them. You need to know, even if it’s painful, going to cost way too much money, or is absolutely embarrassing. Your greatest tool is having a “No Dirty Laundry” policy or in other words, no problem, issue, or worry is a secret, ever. Encourage your team to rip off the Band-Aid and say it aloud – these brave folks should be celebrated because they are your secret weapons and should be treated that way.
When your team is empowered, this process becomes less painful and more effective. As they bring more potential issues to meetings and their audience is non-reactive, they are encouraged to do it again and sooner the next time, further increasing your chances of mitigating more quickly. This is a simple concept, however one would be surprised in how many organizations the messenger gets shot before they finish their sentence.
Treat your team like your solution and you’d be surprised how many problems disappear.
Bethany Reed is the Founder and Owner of Granatum Advising, a risk management consulting firm in Southern California.