What The Experts Say

“In a managerial role, it’s natural to feel ambivalence” when delivering disappointing news, says Joshua Margolis, a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. This is because you always have two different parties’ interests at heart — that of your employees and that of upper management. Talent management expert and humanresources.about.com writer Susan Heathfield agrees: “As a manager, you walk a fine line between being a company advocate and an employee advocate.” Reconciling the two is no easy task and you often feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. Here’s how to navigate the situation.