Minding Our Words

Keith is an exemplary leader who inspires others with his vision for elder care. The growth and success of assisted living residences and services in his state were legendary, and when he announced his retirement after 20 years as chief executive officer (CEO), employees wept openly. Yet tears were shed not for their beloved CEO’s departure but for Allen, the talented and experienced vice president of patient services, who was promised the CEO job and did not get it. Some said that it was an unspoken promise through the years, whereas others claimed that it was in writing, but the organization as a whole understood that Keith had been grooming Allen to be his successor. After behind-the-scene meetings with the board of directors, a new CEO was proclaimed—a capable vice president from another part of the organization who had been around for a couple of years.

In my coaching session with the new CEO, we talked about his challenges. “What’s the fallout of this situation for you?” I asked. He said that he thought people fell into three different groups. For one group, Allen not getting the job was a blip on the radar screen, and they did not care much. Another group cared but would quickly move on. The third group concerned him. “They care deeply about Allen and the promise that wasn’t kept,” he said. “I don’t know how deeply.”

Thus, because of a broken promise—or at least the perception of one—a popular CEO retires with a stain on his credibility, an organization is fractured, and a new leader must take office in a sludge of left-over feelings. Some suspected that Keith did not keep his promise by fighting hard enough for Allen when the board began looking at other possibilities for a successor. It is also possible that Keith did all he could, but the decision ultimately was out of his control. And therein lies a problem with many promise-makers— committing to something without fully considering the variables and contingencies that may, in the end, despite all efforts, make keeping the commitment impossible. If Keith did indeed give impressions that his position eventually would be Allen’s, he made a promise that was not his alone to make or keep.

The other lesson from this incident is this: Be careful what you appear to promise. Whether it is a real or perceived promise that is broken, the negative effects likely will be the same. In the workplace, those effects could be lost trust and effectiveness and decreased morale and productivity.

Leaders determined to be perceived as promise-keepers must seriously consider the growth goals they promise to employees, customers, and shareholders. This was almost surely the thinking behind Coca-Cola’s December 2002 announcement that it would no longer play the earnings estimates game and would stop providing specific estimates on future profits. Assigning hard numbers to earnings predictions not only makes public a promise that possibly could fall flat, but it also places tremendous pressure on a company’s internal structure to meet the performance expectations at any cost. While few companies will cut such large ethical corners as committing accounting manipulations or outright fraud to meet these public goals, many do fall prey to day-to-day leadership dilemmas of choosing the right way or the expedient way. Coca-Cola’s decision to focus more on long-term performance measures in its investor education is likely to be followed by other companies.

While a culture of hype still exists in our country, recent corporate scandals have made underselling and underpromising a more prudent way to win loyalty. This is true not only for business leaders in their dealings with customers and investors but also for employees. Misrepresenting your company’s culture and growth expectations in order to successfully recruit a top-notch sales rep, while tempting, can be expensive in the long run. An employee who is told about and understands the risks that come with a job is more likely to work through hard times or difficult situations. Likewise, being forthcoming with employees about what can go wrong in each step of a new business strategy builds far more stability than grand promises that may not be kept.