Workplace Multiplier by Tola Akinsulire

May 9, 2025

Welcome to the Workplace Multiplier newsletter. Published Monday to Friday, equipping you to achieve your professional goals faster and without burnout or overwhelm by leveraging The Triple Win Method.

Letting Them Know You are Open to Bad News

Howdy ,

Bad news is part of the work experience.

Bad news about a deadline missed, a deal failure, or staff giving the company the pink slip.

As you grow in your career, you need to create an environment that communicates you are open to bad news.

To do that, you need to always let your team know you are more invested in their development than anything else.

Why?

Because the better the staff becomes, the better they will serve the clients and a happy client will continue paying for what the business offers.

It doesn’t matter if they lost a deal, missed a deadline, or even if they express dissatisfaction with the job.

As long as you see signs of a growing staff, embrace the bad news in a way that communicates respect to the staff.

When you do that often, you may even get the opportunity to address bad news before it happens.

I got that experience earlier this week.

A team member told that he felt he was not getting a varied transaction experience on the job. As a result, he was considering options outside the company.

I asked him more questions to be sure I understood what he wanted. Afterward, I asked for a week to try and see how I could achieve his aspirations.

If something came up, we would implement it and check back with him to see if it matched his expectations.

It’s not easy for staff to tell you that they are exploring other options.

But if you create an atmosphere for communicating bad news, you might just hear stuff like this before you get the pink slip.

As always, keep winning at work and in life.

Tola Akinsulire

Your Strategic Workplace Mentor

Like this?

Please pay it forward by sharing it with someone who could benefit from it. They will thank you for it.

Want to get in on some of the lessons I have picked up in my career? Get my eBook "21 Lessons I Learned in My Career - A Primer to Help You Become Better at Work". Get it here

Do you work in a new country, or does your work involve working with people outside your country? Get my acclaimed book "Winning Beyond Borders: Achieving Success at Work in a New Country". Get it here

Was this forwarded to you? Sign up so you don't miss any edition. Click here to sign up.