How honest should a founder be with the team?
Think through what your team needs to know, what belongs in private support and how to communicate a clear next step.
By Rajiv Sankarlall · Updated
You can be honest with your team without giving them every detail of what you are going through. You can also keep personal matters private without making the team guess about decisions that affect their work.
The useful question is what the conversation needs to accomplish. Are you explaining a change, acknowledging a mistake, asking for information or looking for personal reassurance? Those purposes call for different kinds of conversation.
Begin with what affects the work
What do people need to know to do their jobs and make informed choices? If your availability is changing, explain the arrangement. If priorities are shifting, identify what should happen next. If you made a mistake, acknowledge the part you are responsible for and say how you will address it.
You do not need to disclose private details to make those points clear. Avoid offering certainty you do not have, but distinguish what is decided from what is still being worked through.
Notice who is being asked to carry the feeling
Before sharing something personal, ask why this audience needs to hear it. Is it relevant to the working relationship? Are you asking them to solve a problem they can reasonably help with? Or are you hoping they will make you feel less afraid?
A coach, therapist, trusted friend or peer may be a more appropriate place for the part of the conversation that is about your personal distress. Choosing support can help you consider the difference.
Give people a usable response
After communicating a difficult change, allow questions. Tell people where to raise concerns and what you can answer now. If something needs another update, make an agreement you can keep rather than promising that everything will soon be fine.
The same applies to personal boundaries. “I need to change my evening availability; routine requests will be handled the next morning” gives people a practical arrangement. They do not need your whole personal history to understand it.
In private founder coaching, you can work through what you feel, what you value and how you want to respond before bringing a conversation to the team. That space should help you take responsibility for your choices, while seeking appropriate professional advice when legal, clinical or organizational questions are involved. What your team learns from your behavior offers another useful way to examine the message you send.