The front door to my apartment building won’t close.
The latch won’t catch.
The handyman would fix it.
And it would break again.
So now the door stays open.
All hours of the day.
On a main street in Los Angeles.
For the past month.
I left a voice message for the management company when it first broke.
No response.
I emailed the management company a week later.
They responded.
“Thank you.”
Someone opened four Amazon packages in the front of the building this past Saturday.
I snapped pics.
And emailed them to the management company.
No response.
I’ve had conversations with three neighbors.
And we’re all like wtf.
I ran into the handyman yesterday.
And asked him when they were going to fix the door.
He said the management company is aware of it.
He’s not sure if they’re ordering a new lock.
A new arm that connects the door to the frame.
Or if they’re replacing the entire door.
——————
If you’re a leader.
And your team is constantly raising an issue.
That’s preventing them from getting their job done.
Preventing them from feeling safe.
And your response is silence.
Your stakeholders are losing faith in you.
Because they don’t feel heard.
And they’re asking anyone who will listen for information.
This is how rumors start.
My supervisor doesn’t listen.
My supervisor doesn’t care.
Nothing ever changes around here.
This company is a joke.
My supervisor is terrible.
The story your stakeholders tell each other
is going to cause more damage
than the actual problem.
Because it will destroy morale.
This is why you have to proactively communicate.
I heard you.
Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Here’s how we’re going to address it.
Or why we’re not going to address it.
I’ll provide updates as we go.
Because I don’t want there to be any more surprises.