We’re struggling and the staff can feel my stress. Help!

Dear Aunty B,

My company is really struggling and I think the staff can feel my stress even though I have not wanted them to lose confidence and worry themselves.

I am scared that if I share my worries with them they might start casting around for other jobs because many are highly employable.

But I also need my staff to put in and work extra hard.

The plan to dig ourselves out of this mess also means there will be some changes and I also want to be able to tell staff about the plan and put the changes in that context as some of the changes will not be received easily.

Worried and silent,
Warragul

Dear Worried and Silent,

Congratulations! You have a plan! Most people in trouble don’t have a plan.

They don’t even have an idea.

They get so frozen by the oncoming juggernaut  that is about to wipe them out that they stand completely still, terrified of the impact but unable to work out which way to jump.

You, my friend, are jumping. So that’s the first thing.

Secondly, you must jump with confidence.

I have interviewed lots of entrepreneurs in my time who have all been in trouble at various times and they have always told their staff that the company was in trouble.

And they have openly shared their plan to get the company out of trouble.

What they didn’t do was share their stress and anxiety with the staff.

What they did share was their confidence that the plan would work.

Read about the experience of Larissa Robertson, who took out our number one spot at the SmartCompany awards last week.

She faced liquidation, rebuilding a company from scratch, having a baby and losing a major contract all within a few months.

She stayed calm, kept a level head and while she let the staff know that the business was in trouble, she hid her own stress and got her staff to believe in the future.

So yes, tell your staff that the company is in trouble and share with them your plan.

Then you must work very hard to remain upbeat and confident in front of them so they can focus on the task ahead.

Be smart!

Your Aunty B.