Your Friend in Leadership

In this epsiode J.Marie gives her version on the classic communications technique of bridging. We are all familiar with when a policitian or leader is asked about something they don't want to answer and they redirect the conversation to another topic they do want to talk about. This can easily feel disingenuous, but as leaders being able to redirect a conversation or pivot when you are asked something you can't or wont answer is a tactic you want in your bag of rhetorical tricks. J.Marie gives the run down on the ABC's of bridging: Acknowledge, Bridge, Convert. She wraps the concept of up with additional skills to create a more holistic method of redirecting conversation while remaining transparent and authentic.


What is Your Friend in Leadership?

Hosted by veteran communications strategist and leadership trainer J.Marie, Your Friend in Leadership is an inspiring and approachable podcast created to empower today’s public leaders. Each episode delivers strategic insights, transformative ideas, and actionable communication tools to help you better connect with your communities and move your mission forward. With deep appreciation for the important work of public leaders and the knowledge that leadership and communication are skills that can be built and improved, this podcast is your guide to confident and effective leadership every step of the way.

[00:00:00:00 - 00:00:02:18]
(Music)

[00:00:05:05 - 00:00:10:12]
J. Marie
Greetings, friends. Welcome back to podcast on leadership and communications.

[00:00:11:14 - 00:05:20:22]
J. Marie
In some earlier episodes, we talked about conflict management, how to navigate polarizing topics. And specifically, there was an episode on what to say when you can't say much. How do you navigate those topics where there's appropriate levels of discretion and confidentiality? And I promised to circle back to a technique that can be really helpful when you're dealing with topics that either you can't say a lot about, you might be getting questions either from the media or from the public about an issue where you cannot be completely candid and need to be really mindful about what you say. It also is a helpful skill, quite frankly, when you get stuck. Sometimes I talk about as a leader of a public organization, sometimes for the love of all that's good and holy, you want to get a bottle of wine and pick up some broccoli and get back home and finish making dinner. And someone catches you in the produce section and wants to dig into the topic du jour when you really aren't in the right frame of mind or don't have enough time to have that conversation. And so the skill set we're gonna talk about today is useful in all of those settings, and it's called bridging. And bridging is a classic communication tactic, and we're all familiar with it. In particular, we're familiar with it because politicians use bridging a lot. And so bridging is when, say, a media person or member of the public, when someone asks you a question that you don't wanna answer, bridging is the technique that gets you out of answering the question. And that is essentially to say as little as possible about the question you just got asked, and then bridge over to talk about what you actually want to talk about. And we've seen politicians do it enough times that now it has kind of a negative connotation, it feels kinda slimy when you see someone do it. Cuz they're really pretty obviously warming out of the question that they've been asked, and they're kinda hoping that you don't notice. And that they're gonna turn the conversation a direction that they want it to go, and kinda hope that you forget about the question that was originally asked. And that's what gives it kind of a disingenuous feeling. And so when I teach the skill of bridging, I wrap it with a couple other skills. And so my colleagues and I call it the ABCs, acknowledge, bridge, convert. And it's the acknowledging up front that helps keep this from being a smarmy tactic and brings transparency to what you're doing. So let's say you get asked about, let's say you're navigating a disciplinary action. You have a staff member that has been accused of inappropriate conduct in some way, and they are out on administrative leave while you bring in a third party investigator. Or even if it's just a standard HR investigation, but you're conducting an investigation of what's happened. So you can't talk about the details of it, but there's rumors out in the community. And so folks are asking you, well, do you think he did it? Or what's gonna happen to her if she did it, right? Like the people are asking you questions that you either can't or don't want to answer yet. Rather than pretend like you didn't hear the question and kind of move on, we start by acknowledging it. So we acknowledge, I understand why you're asking this question. This issue is important to all of us, or the accusations that we're dealing with in this situation are shocking and upsetting. And so I understand why this is important to you, because it's important to me too. So what I just did there was I acknowledged the validity of the question being asked that you understand that that's a reasonable question for someone to ask and that you are creating a connection with them to demonstrate that you share the values that are underlying that question. So you start there with acknowledge, and then you bridge. And part of what I recommend is that you make visible why you're bridging. Don't just shift gears now and kind of ignore the question of, well, what's going to happen to them? Or do you think that they're guilty? Don't pretend like you didn't hear that. So you started by acknowledging the importance of it. Then you can say, I understand why you're asking that question, and I need to explain to you a little bit about the process. And this is where you might say, there are important legal reasons why I cannot delve into the details of this investigation. Or it is law that when we are engaging in a disciplinary review, the staff member or the student or whoever's involved, deserves to have confidentiality around that process. Not only is that something that we would want for our loved ones if they were facing the same kind of accusation, but it is legally required. So I am bound to honor the confidentiality of the process.

[00:05:22:03 - 00:08:54:22]
J. Marie
So that's where you are starting to bridge. You're explaining why you're not going to answer the question that was posed to you. But then you are going to convert your answer over to what it is you do want to talk about. And so in a previous episode, we talked about what to say when you can't say much. And we talked about the idea that you can always talk about your personal values as a leader or your organizational values or the policies and procedures or the next steps. And so that's what you're now converting towards. So you acknowledge why the person asked the question, you create some connection around shared values that you understand why this was an important issue. You bridge, you start to explain why you're not going to answer the question that was actually asked. And then rather than just leave it there, because if you just simply said, I can't answer that question and please for the love of all that's good and right in the world, don't say no comment because that just implies there's more to the story. So you don't just leave it there of basically saying, I'm not going to answer your question or I'm not going to comment on it. But you convert over to those things that you can talk about. Do you think that so and so did it? You know, friend, I understand why you are asking me that question. And this is a shocking accusation or this is an issue that is close to all of our hearts. And so this it is important that we investigate this thoroughly and fairly because it's in everybody's interest. We all want to make sure that we have accurate information for the next step, you know, because whether you believe that this employee did what they're accused of, or whether you believe that they are innocent of the accusation, having a fair and neutral and thorough investigation ensures that we will all be able to trust the outcome when that outcome happens. And for that to happen, I have to remain neutral. Or for that to happen, we can't go into the details of that issue right now. But what I can tell you is this. So notice how I acknowledge the interest I bridged, I explained why I couldn't answer the question. And now I'm converting by saying what I can tell you is this, I have the utmost faith in the investigator. Our HR department is well versed in how to navigate these kinds of issues. Or this was such a serious issue, we brought in a neutral third party investigator. Or we are collaborating, working closely with law enforcement on this investigation, whatever might be true. So then you convert over to express confidence in the process. We have policy and procedure or law that will guide us through next steps on this. We are going to follow that closely. We are going to, you know, whatever it is, you're expressing trust in the people who are doing the work, you express trust and confidence in the process itself. And then you might say, and we will communicate as fully as possible as soon as we're able. You know, when the investigation is complete, we will then share what we have learned and what the next steps are then. So acknowledge bridge convert, that is an important skill set. I'm going to do another podcast coming up here on how to prepare for media interviews. And boy, acknowledge bridge convert is a key skill set that's important for that. But it is also an important skill set. If you are leading a staff meeting and you are talking about we're dealing with this personnel issue, we've got someone out on leave, here's the things we can say, here's the steps we've taken, here's the values that will guide us, here's the policy and procedure, here's the next steps. Or whether you're talking to the general public, you know, whether you've gotten caught in the grocery aisle, acknowledge bridge convert is just a wonderful technique that can serve you well in a variety of different settings.

[00:08:55:22 - 00:09:25:17]
J. Marie
And as I noted before, I think I'll close out by just saying the important thing when you're doing acknowledge bridge convert is that you make visible the thinking for why it is that you are not answering the original question. That's the key difference between bridging being used in kind of a political way versus acknowledge bridge convert being used in a really authentic way that can not just protect but even build trust in you as a leader and in the process that you're following.

[00:09:26:22 - 00:09:44:05]
J. Marie
Today's podcast was a little more of a specific technique as opposed to a broader philosophical idea. I hope it is helpful to you. And I thank you very much for the work you do in public service and in leadership. And I wish you well. So until next time, friends, take good care.