Questions during a crisis are less about facts and more about emotions. This question comes straight from the gut, not the head. Most leaders I’ve watched acted as if it were just the opposite. When they ignore the emotions and speak only to the facts, they lose their team or their audience. That’s why Yes is such a tempting answer for a leader and why leaders are tempted to use it when it doesn’t apply. Nowhere is that more obvious than when it comes to job security. As much as you’d like to be able to answer this question with a yes, don’t do it unless you are 100 percent certain.

Of course, not much in today’s world is 100 percent certain, so your answer to this question is apt to be closer to I don’t know, and there are some comments about that answer in the next section. But you’re in front of your team right now and don’t have time to page through a book to find a formula for success. (Don’t bother looking for one. In this kind of situation, formulas don’t exist.) Think of it this way. What would you want to hear in this situation? A forthright I don’t know or a lot of fancy words and phrases used to obscure the fact that what is being delivered is no answer at all?

Maybe there is a formula after all. Don’t ignore the emotions you’re dealing with. Tell the truth, sincerely and frequently. Update as promised in clear and simple language. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Keep the promises you do make, and stay visible. Don’t shy away from the emotions; learn to deal with them. You’ll be a better leader for it.

Now reread the answer to the last question. Probably the team you assembled in response to that question will continue to deal with the results of asking this question. There’s one more thing to focus on.

In a time of crisis, when emotions are high, it’s tempting, yet disastrous, to promise things you hope you can provide but which, when the question is asked, you aren’t sure you can deliver. People don’t cut you a lot of slack for these promises. Remember, they hear the promises through their own emotions and often cling to them as literal lifelines. Going back on a promise (even an implied one) with so much emotion invested, is at best uncomfortable and at worst a disaster (potentially bigger than the original crisis).

So what’s a leader to do? Only make promises you can personally fulfill by your own authority or out of your wallet. For things beyond those parameters, stop, listen carefully, take notes about the issue or need, and respond with something like the following:

“What I’ve heard is that you need [recap the individual’s request].” Pause and wait for confirmation. “What I’m doing with all requests that we can’t immediately fill is the same thing I promise to do with yours. I’ve taken notes along with your contact information. My promise to you is that I will be back in touch with you by [insert a reasonable length of time]. By then we’ll have a better grasp of the entire situation and I’ll be able to answer your request accurately.” Putting this in your own words and practicing it will make it your own. Discuss it with your crisis team and make sure they understand the impact for all of you when any one of you makes a promise that can’t be kept later. Apply the old customer service motto: Underpromise and overdeliver and you’ll be all right.