Miners Case Painfully Demonstrates the Price of Poor Communication by Steve Adubato, Ph.D.

Company and government leaders called it “miscommunication.” Others called it a “communication breakdown.” But any way you look at it, what happened to the Sago miners and their families in West Virginia this past week was both unimaginable and unconscionable. It was a communication nightmare of epic proportions.

This not about assigning blame. It is an effort to understand how companies and other organizations are often woefully unprepared to handle serious communication challenges. There is no way of knowing whether what happened to the West Virginia miners could have been avoided. But what happened after, beginning at 11:45 p.m. on Tuesday, January 3, was avoidable.

The first unconfirmed reports were that the 12 miners were alive and not dead as presumed. It was a miracle. No one could believe it. Everyone’s prayers were answered. Families rejoiced and the country exhaled deeply as the news media erroneously reported that the miners were unbelievably alive. But 45 minutes later, officials of the International Coal Group along with the West Virginia governor realized that the miners were in fact dead. Everyone involved in a leadership capacity became paralyzed. No one knew what to do, how to communicate and who to communicate with. What they did was engage in what will likely become the most egregious case study in how not to communicate in a crisis.

Company and government officials waited almost three hours before gathering the families of the miners in a local church and informing them that the original reports were wrong. Company officials, led by CEO Ben Hatfield, apologized for what was called a “miscommunication.” It’s nice that they apologized, but it couldn’t begin to undo the pain and suffering these grieving relatives were experiencing.

This case provides poignant lessons for any organization involved in any activity that could turn into an accident, disaster or full blown crisis. First, company officials should have immediately held a press conference at 11:45 p.m. or soon thereafter to make it clear that the initial “unconfirmed” reports were just that—“unconfirmed.” It would have lowered expectations at least a bit. Company officials knew that rescue workers were on cell phones instantly communicating to family members that the miners were alive. The rumor spread like wildfire.

Instead, those responsible opted to engage in wishful thinking, not wanting to dampen the spirits of those celebrating. They wanted to believe the miracle. But wishful thinking is not a strategy--rather, cautious and restrained communication is.

However, once it became clear that the miners were dead, company as well as government officials needed to immediately gather family members together to communicate the bad news. Difficult? Undoubtedly. But every second that they waited and allowed the families to believe that the miners were alive made the pain that much worse when they found out the truth.

Further, because company and government officials weren’t sure how to communicate the truth, they waited until 3:15 a.m. to hold a press conference. By then it was way too late. Their credibility was shot.

To his credit, Ben Hatfield said that if he could do it over again, he would have communicated to family members immediately upon finding that the miners were dead. But it doesn’t work that way in a crisis. You must have a clear plan, including contingencies. You need to understand the myriad pressures of communicating to family members, concerned citizens as well as a news media hanging on your every word.

Unfortunately, devastating tragedies like this are inevitable. We just don’t know when, where or how they will happen. But the West Virginia miner tragedy is another powerful and painful example of what happens when organizations and their leaders don’t think about and prepare for how to communicate when things go terribly wrong.

Dr. Steve Adubato coaches and speaks on the subjects of communication and leadership and is the author of the book "Speak from the Heart." Write to him at The Star-Ledger, 1 Star-Ledger Plaza, Newark, NJ 07102, or click here to contact him through this web site.