Yesterday, Fox News TV fired Tucker Carlson and CNN fired Don Lemon. Both were leading TV personalities for their respective networks. Both decisions surprised their colleagues, media experts, and viewers. Neither company immediately explained the logic for these critical leadership decisions.
Nature abhors a vacuum ― Aristotle
In failing to explain their decisions, both Fox and CNN gave opponents all the fuel necessary to flame the fires of their opinions and misinformation. For example….
- Competitors may choose to believe these termination indicate a lack of confidence in each organization.
- Employees may fear their own employment and second guess their work.
- Fans of the terminated personalities likely question whether they can still trust the company to provide their desired content (credible or not).
Executives are often advised by HR and Legal exerts to share as little information as possible. Such advice is the “safe” decision protecting proceedings in anticipation of unlawful termination lawsuits. But remaining silent is not leadership.
Instead, offer an explanation. In explaining your decision, you show support for – and a future with – all your stakeholders. Silence only serves to fuel the opposition.
QUESTION: What do you think executives of these organizations could have said to explain their decisions?
