Team Leader Training The Forwarded E-mail Normal slide navigation has been disabled in order to ensure this training works properly. Macros must be enabled to complete training.

The Forwarded E-mail You have been having problems lately putting together the contracts needed for a multiyear project. As part of this effort, you need to get everyone on your team up to speed and request some cost information from them. Rather than scheduling a meeting, you forward a brief overview of your problems to your team along with your requests for information from them. Unbeknownst to you, Donna, a member of your team, forwards your e-mail to another government employee outside of ARI because she thinks this person may have some experience dealing with these issues. You just received a phone call from that other government employee asking a number of detailed and sensitive questions about one of your contract efforts.

Question & Answer Session Q1. What do you do?

Question & Answer Session Q2. What are your expectations for how your team will handle e-mails they receive from you? How do you go about setting those expectations?

Lessons Learned, Slide 1 of 2 There are customary e-mail behaviors based on the sensitivity of the topic (e.g., contracting procurement) or with rank of the individual being addressed to or received from. In ARI, truly sensitive communications should happen in person, over the phone, or with a clear indication of their level of confidentiality when e-mailed. Establish those expectations with all of your team early and reinforce them often. In this case, accept responsibility for the fact that you made an error in judgment in sending sensitive information by e- mail when other methods may have been preferable. At the least you could have included some note about the sensitivity level of the communication. However, you also need to teach researchers how to make these evaluations for themselves. Clearly, you have not reinforced these norms often enough with the researcher who forwarded your e-mail. In this case, you should treat the incident as a learning opportunity for Donna, the researcher. Explain to her why she should have known this information is sensitive, and clarify that such information should never be forwarded outside of ARI without consent of the sender.

Lessons Learned, Slide 2 of 2 Communicate clear expectations for your team with respect to e-mail behaviors. Model and reinforce those norms. Accept responsibility for your own mistakes, and help your researchers learn from theirs. Themes Accepting Responsibility; Setting Expectations