But the worst-case response to a tone change like this one is to hear crickets, says Virginia Healy-Tangney, a lecturer at MIT's Sloan School of Management. After all, there's nothing more frustrating than getting no response when you're angry.
Strong language can function as an effective wake-up call. Earlier this year, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop got the world to pay attention to his company again by the way he framed its current crisis. Elop said Nokia (NOK) was like a person standing on a burning platform and would have to jump into icy water to save itself.
强硬的措辞能够起到警醒的作用。今年早些时候,诺基亚(Nokia)CEO史蒂芬?埃洛普坦言公司当前所面临的危机,成功唤回了外界对公司的关注。埃洛普称,诺基亚公司就像一个人,站在熊熊燃烧的平台上,为了自救,唯一的选择就是跳进刺骨的冰水中。
Leaders in crisis mode sometimes have to convey anger or aggressiveness to appear relevant, says Healy-Tangney. She remembers when Ronald Logue, then-CEO of State Street, her previous employer, spoke to the company about the massive layoffs he was forced to make because of the financial crisis. He was angry about the situation, and he conveyed it. Despite hearing tough news, employees responded well to the speech, Healy-Tangney says.
海利?汤尼称,有时候,身处危机中的领导者需要通过传达自己的愤怒或表现得咄咄逼人,让自己看起来与听众感同身受。她想起自己之前的老板、时任道富集团(State Street)CEO的罗纳德?罗格。当时,道富集团要进行大规模裁员,罗格称由于金融危机的影响,自己也是被逼无奈。他对当时的情况愤怒不已,并且毫不掩饰自己的情绪。结果,海利?汤尼说,虽然裁员并不是好消息,但员工对罗格的话却反响很好。