December 25, 2001

Thank You, Charlie Brown

By Gregory Favre
Poynter Leadership Faculty

Thank You, Charlie Brown

By Gregory Favre

More than 50 years ago we first met the little guy in the zigzag sweater named Charlie Brown. And he is still around in reruns, still handing out wise advice that can help us be better leaders, still bringing joy to the holiday season.

Charlie may have hit only one home run in half of a century, but he scored many times when it came to commenting on the human condition.

There was one Sunday strip that I often refer to and have heard others talk about. You may have read it.

It’s night and Snoopy bangs on the door. Charlie crawls out of bed, opens the door, and gets down next to Snoopy on the porch.

"Are you upset, little friend," he asks. "Have you been lying awake worrying? Well, don’t worry. I’m here. I’m here to give you reassurance. Everything is all right. The floodwaters will recede, the famine will end, the sun will shine tomorrow. And I will be here to take care of you. Be reassured."

Snoopy then walks back to his doghouse. Charlie gets back into bed, pulls the covers up to his face, looks out, and asks, "Who reassures the reassurer?"

Who indeed?

I am sure that is the question uppermost in the minds of many in newsrooms today. Who is going to help lift the shadow of fear?

That’s why it is more important than ever that newsroom leaders set the right example. Those who work for you read your facial expressions. They read your body language. They listen to the inflections in your voice. If you are wallowing in woe, they will wallow with you.

That doesn’t mean you walk around with a smile after you have had to just let four people go, or you had to tell the city editor that the two vacancies are being frozen, or that all travel, with few exceptions, is being cancelled.

What it does mean is that you have to let people know what’s going on, what the next steps will be, just what is possible and what isn’t. They need to know that everyone is in this together. The biggest challenge is to find ways to reallocate shrinking resources so as to protect those areas that are most important to your audience. And this needs to be a collaborative effort.

If you took a survey in one or in a hundred newsrooms, you would hear many of the same things: Most people respond to leaders who spell out their expectations, who talk about the obstacles they face, who have some action plans to carry them through the days of crisis.

They respond to what they view as consistency as far as values and visions are concerned. They respond to your behavior and your work habits, to your guidance and your ability to plan. They respond to the passion you show in what you share, the love of the work that brought you both there in the first place. They respond to the care and concern you have shown in the good days as well as the bad.

And they especially respond if you have earned their trust.

After that, you, like Charlie Brown, can go back to bed.

Questions? Comments? Future column ideas? E-mail Gregory Favre.

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