Suppose you were just informed that a certain supervisor is leaving, and you’re not given any explanation. Maybe it’s not just one person but a handful leaving around the same time. In this uncertain moment, head-scratching quickly turns into fidgeting.

Likely, your knee-jerk response is to ask, “What happened?”, “Why?”, and “How will this affect me?” However, these questions jump the gun; they are inwardly focused. Personally, they have only led me to sleepless nights of worry and wasted hours rehashing rumors.

So, in order to fight worry, to resist gossip, and to be a light amidst uncertainty, there are better questions to ask when this kind of news breaks.

What Do I Know?

In our litigious society, announcements of personnel changes might come out piecemeal or be shrouded in euphemisms. It’s natural to want answers. So, we might want to talk to the people involved.

In their final days of employment, lame duck employees may have little to lose in divulging information. Yet as tempting as it is to get their intel, we should recognize that even they might not know the whole story. They may be in a state of turmoil and speak more from their heart than their head. 

As details emerge, we can avoid the grapevine by rooting our conjectures in things we know for sure. As an extreme (or perhaps not) thought experiment, ask yourself, “What do I know that I could attest to in court?” Evidence I have come home with and vented to my wife, she has perceived as emotionally charged plot points in a self-fulfilling narrative. I was using half-truths and assumptions to fill in the blanks.

I was hasty in my speech, a practice shamed in Proverbs 29:20 (ESV): “Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” Thinking I knew more than I did caused unnecessary stress because it made the situation seem more volatile than it actually was.

What Do I Need to Know?

Of the things we know about the situation, we must next rid our minds of what facts are irrelevant to us. What everyone is talking about may never reach our desk. It might affect us (or so we rationalize), and we continue our head-spinning. To promote peace instead of gossip, the Christian answering this question should be humble. Thus, we must admit there are things above our pay grade.

Transparency, though honorable, is not always prudent on an organizational level, at least not in a fallen world. A former chairwoman once explained that what a board of directors decides and why will not always be disclosed to all employees. They are not obligated to share everything, and employees don’t have a right to everything. Situations made confidential may be hidden out of wise discretion rather than an ulterior motive.

Once I understood this, it freed me of hubris (which was masking worry), and I surrendered my confidence to God and my bosses. I learned I don’t need to know everything because I am not in control.

What Can I Do?

Respect authority. In Daniel 2, 1 Samuel 24 and 26, and John 19, we see the subordinate characters (Daniel, David, and Jesus) not seeking to undermine the authority figure poised to kill them (Nebuchadnezzar, Saul, and Pilate). Surrendered firstly to the authority of God, they respected the authorities of the world. So, heed Paul to the Romans: Submit to the world’s authorities, for God put them there (Rom. 13:1).

Refuse to gossip. “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent” (Prov. 10:19 ESV). This and other proverbs teach the wisdom of keeping quiet. My rule of thumb is, “If you have nothing new to say, don’t say anything at all.”

Be patient. Adopt the posture that Paul urges in 1 Thessalonians 4:11 (NLT): “Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands …” It happens that this is what I’ve been told to do by successive supervisors: Keep doing your work and do it well. There is little to do but wait, anyway. 

Advice & an Example for Those at the Top

When leaders leave suddenly, those who remain should ideally be ready to answer their employees’ knee-jerk questions as well as they can to minimize rumors and maintain their employees’ trust during the transition. As a friend of mine puts it, they will need to be an open book, but they don’t have to be an audiobook. That is, they should answer thoroughly when pressed but don’t need to answer beyond that.

I’ve always been thankful for the access and accountability that my church’s leadership practices. They know that dodging the question is suspect, so they give an answer. They know that vagueness is fodder for misinterpretation—so they are upfront.

Recently, an elder at my church stepped away from his part-time role on staff. At the congregational meeting where this was announced, he anticipated our thoughts by saying, “Now, when transitions like this happen, people love to look for the scandal.” Smiling, he continued, “If that’s you, I’m going to tell you right now: You’re going to be disappointed.” In fact, he was leaving to start a ministry encouraging and equipping pastors. 

Proverbs 26:20 (RGT) says, “Without wood, the fire is quenched. And without a gossip, strife ceases.” In the way my pastorate presented the news, they removed the wood; we never had the chance to think otherwise of his leaving.

Frequent or sudden changes in leadership rightly lead to questions and uncertainty throughout a company. The charge to Christians in these moments, however, does not change. Recognizing that God is our ultimate boss, we need to have a peaceful, patient presence and be salt and light to those without an anchor for their souls.