“Communication comes in both words and deeds. The latter is generally the most powerful form.”
John Kotter
At some point, every leader delivers news they did not create. A policy shift decided three levels up. A schedule change nobody on the floor asked for. A decision made in a room you were never in, then handed to you to explain to people who trust you.
How you carry that moment says more about your leadership than almost anything else you do. Your team is not only listening to what changed. They are watching how you talk about it, and deciding whether they can trust you with the next hard thing.
This is not about agreeing with every decision that comes down the chain. What matters most is how you show up in the space between hearing the news and explaining it to those entrusted to your leadership.
A Moment Worth Paying Attention To
Soon after I assumed leadership in community mental health, a grant-funded push brought clients from surrounding areas into a common location for group therapy and life-skills classes. The idea was sound and the opportunity was real. What we missed was how much the rural communities had come to rely on the close relationships formed in their local groups.
When the direction came down, I sat with the team and explained that our groups would change. We would need to encourage clients to use the new opportunity and explain the rationale behind it. It did not go over well. After some emotional responses, I set up time to share the same information with our clients.
That meeting went worse. Tempers flared. There were accusations of mismanagement and a loss of trust. I knew it was not a good moment.
Afterward, one of my team members asked why I had not explained that this was an organizational decision, not ours, and not our “fault.” I told them that we had shared our opinions, the decision had been made, and we were part of the organization. We needed to support it without throwing our leaders under the bus.
The change did not work in the rural communities, and it took time to regain the trust of the clients affected. It was positive in our urban areas. Once the specific needs of the rural communities were understood, we returned to the original way of running those groups. The experience was hard, but it gave my young team a chance to see that frontline teams have a responsibility both to serve their clients and to support their organization.
The Reality You Can’t Avoid
If you lead people, this will happen again and again. Someone above you makes a decision, and it lands on your desk to explain. New leaders often assume this means they have not really arrived. Set that expectation aside. This is simply the nature of leading inside any organization, not a mark against you.
Get Yourself Ready First
Before you say a word to your team, give yourself a minute with your own reaction. Whatever it is, name it to yourself first. If you walk into that conversation still working through your own feelings, your team will read them louder than anything you actually say.
The Transparency Balance
Be honest about what you know and what you do not. You do not need to manufacture certainty you do not have. “I don’t have the full reasoning behind this yet, and I want to be honest about that rather than pretend I do” is a complete, trustworthy sentence.
Own Your Role Without Pretending You Made the Call
There is a difference between honesty and distancing. Saying “they decided this” tells your team you are not really standing with them. “This came from leadership, and here is what I know and what I’ll be doing to support you through it” holds both truths at once.
This is the same discipline behind choosing “we” instead of “they” when the pressure is on. You can be clear about where the decision originated while remaining part of the team that must move forward together.
Acknowledge Impact Without Undermining the Decision
Your team’s frustration or disappointment is real, even when the decision itself is sound. Naming that out loud does not weaken the decision. It tells your team you see them. Validate the feeling without validating the resistance.
Answer “Why” When You Don’t Have the Full Answer
Someone will ask why, and sometimes you genuinely will not know the complete answer. Share what you do know, be honest about the gaps, and commit to following up if you learn more. A partial, honest answer builds more trust than a confident one you invented.
Stay Available After the Announcement
The hardest part of this work rarely happens in the announcement itself. It happens in the days after, in the hallway conversation and the quiet question after a shift. Check back in individually with the people you know this hit hardest. The active listening discipline matters most when someone needs to know they have been heard.
Try This Week
Think about a change you had to communicate that you did not fully agree with. Then pick one part of this framework and apply it intentionally the next time a decision lands on your desk that you did not make.
Reflection
What would your team say about how you handled the last change you had to explain that you were not part of deciding?
Is there a decision you are currently carrying for your organization where you have not been fully honest with your team about what you do and do not know?
What will you do differently the next time news you did not create lands on your desk to deliver?
Lace up your Boots and Go Lead
You’ve Got This.
Suggested Reading
Kotter, John P. Leading Change. Harvard Business Review Press, 1996. The foundational text on organizational change and the source of this week’s opening quote on why actions carry more weight than words when leading people through change.
Bridges, William, and Susan Bridges. Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change. Da Capo Lifelong Books, 4th ed., 2017. A practical look at the difference between a change, the event itself, and a transition, the process people go through to accept it.
Balogun, Julia. “From Blaming the Middle to Harnessing Its Potential: Creating Change Intermediaries.” British Journal of Management, vol. 14, no. 1, 2003, pp. 69-83. Research on the position frontline and middle leaders occupy during organizational change.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you communicate a decision you did not agree with?
Get clear on what you know before you speak. Be honest about what you cannot answer, acknowledge the impact on your team, explain what happens next, and stay available for the conversations that follow.
Should a manager tell the team when a decision came from higher up?
Yes, when that context helps people understand the change. Name where the decision came from without using it to distance yourself. Your job is to help the team understand what is changing and how you will support them through it.
What should you say when you do not know why a change was made?
Say what you know and what you do not know. Do not invent certainty. Commit to finding out more when you can, and follow through with an update rather than leaving people to fill the silence with assumptions.
