Hopefully you won’t be asked to resign today.
 
But what if you are?
 
What would you say if asked the dreaded resignation question now?
 
You don’t have to be an embattled leader of the crisis-hit charity Oxfam to be on the end of it. (More on this later.)
 

 

You don’t have to be the embattled outgoing President of South Africa to find the question fired at you.

 

 

And you don’t have to be an embattled director of the failing construction company Carillion to have the resignation question thrown at you.

 

 

The media, your board or a disgruntled client could ask you the resignation question when you least expect it – and sometimes when you least deserve it.
 
How you answer makes a big difference to your organisation and your own personal future.
 
So it’s worth contemplating the resignation question as an exercise – however strong and admirable your performance.
 
As someone who specialises in preparing individuals and audiences to deal with “blowtorch-on-the-belly” questions, the “Why don’t you just resign now?” question is often the best hypothetical test-out issue.
 
Consequently, I ask people to resign with great frequency.
 
 

HOW NOT TO DO IT

 
When I raise the resignation issue as a shock training question I often get surprisingly bad initial answers.
 
Sometimes people’s starting point is simply: “Er, yes, I will”.
 
Even if there’s strong moral grounds for you to resign, this is never a good way of answering.
 
Another atrocious answer is: “No, I won’t resign.”
 
While commendably direct and honest, it’s dangerous because by repeating back the negative term “resign” it immediately elevates the issue of your resignation in a way that you typically won’t do your glorious future any good.
 
Fundamental to great responses to the “R” question – or any other tough question – is to answer directly AND convey an accompanying positive message.
 
So a much more admirable approach is often something like: “No, it’s my duty to stay in post and make sure we fix the problem, take whatever steps are necessary to seek to ensure it can’t happen again and to make a success of Project X”.
 
But however you answer, it’s so much more effective, powerful and career-enhancing to plan, prepare and practise for it.
 
If you’re ready for the resignation question, then you are psychologically so much better placed to give great answers to whatever else they throw at you.
 
 

LAY BACK AND THINK OF…

 
 
Whether it’s in a training exercise in a master class, at a conference, or during a one-to-one coaching session, being prepared for the resign question is a great way to get you ready for anything!
 
There’s more about the options for enhancing your approach to this and other communication challenges at: http://www.michaeldoddcommunications.com/michael-dodd-services/
 
So apart from booking your own coaching sessions or conference keynotes, there’s a new way of preparing yourself for tough questions.
 
Just lay back on your sofa, your bed or your office chair and think of… Australia.
 
Thanks to the Amazon company, Audible, every golden word of “Great Answers To Tough Questions At Work” can be poured gently into your ears in a soothing Australian accent from a top Australian international speaker and author!
 
The official launch of the audio book is on 20 February 2018.
 
You can pre-order it now at: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Business/Great-Answers-to-Tough-Questions-at-Work-Audiobook/B078HHFJZ9?qid=1513935634&sr=1-1
 
In this way I’ll be there to guide you through the whole book on your phone or tablet as soon as 20 February arrives.
 
But it gets better still. A FREE sample Is available immediately.
 
This provides an early indication of how you can come up with EVEN more powerful, more helpful and more impressive answers in the workplace than the ones you’re possibly giving at the moment.
 
Click here to listen now to the introduction: “Helping You Thrive On Blowtorch-On-The-Belly Questioning”:
 
https://soundcloud.com/audibleuk/great-answers-to-tough-questions-at-work/s-gYt9X
 
And there’s more good news!
 
If you’re not already signed up to Audible, you can get the whole audio book on “Great Answers To Tough Questions At Work” FREE with Audible’s 30-day trial.
 
And if you’re someone who prefers important things conveyed to you visually on video then here’s a guy to show you more…
 

 

DON’T TRY THIS IN YOUR WORKPLACE

 
Now let’s get back to your resignation – or not!!!
 
There’s a joke answer to the “R” question.
 
It’s for bosses under pressure over whether they should resign over the latest fiasco to hit them.
 
The pretend answer is: “This situation is so serious that my deputy will have to resign.”
 
Don’t try it in your workplace!!!
 
But the joke reply has just been played out for real in the most un-funny circumstances amidst the scandal swirling around the besieged charity, Oxfam.
 
The DEPUTY chief executive (my emphasis) of Oxfam, Penny Lawrence, has resigned saying she takes “full responsibility” for the appalling behaviour of staff in crisis-hit Chad and Haiti “that we failed to adequately act upon”.

 

 

While Penny Lawrence deserves credit for some heroic honesty, I will leave it for you to decide whether it’s right for her to have taken the blame and how good you find her statement.
 
But do be aware that pressure is, nonetheless, mounting on the man who was her boss, Oxfam’s chief executive Mark Goldring.

 

TOUGH QUESTIONS BY THEIR VERY NATURE KEEP ON RISING UNTIL THEY HIT THE TOP!
 
So those who are at the top, or who are keen to get there, need the skills to give great answers to tough questions.

Losing deputies doesn’t make the tough questions or the problems go away.
 
But giving great answers at every stage of a problem helps a lot!