7 Things Your Boss Should Never Say to You
March 26, 2010
I just read an article on Yahoo Finance listing 7 Things Your Boss Should Never Say to You. As and operational support person in finance, I have been treated with the utmost respect and also with utter disrespect. I have come across management teams that do not know how to treat an employee.
Here is a quick synopsis of the 7 things Your Boss Should Never Say to You:
- “I pay your salary. You have to do what I say”
- “I don’t want to listen to your complaints”
- “I was here Saturday afternoon. Where were you?”
- “Isn’t your performance review coming up soon?”
- “We’ve always done it this way.”
- “We need to cut costs.”
- “You should work better”
Management teams need to communicate professionally and clearly. Below is why I think it is unprofessional to make the above statements.
Salary – Bringing up someones salary in any conversation that does not include a performance review is almost always inappropriate and unprofessional.
Complaints – Not listening to an employees complaints can lead to them feeling like you do not care about the firm. The complaint could be something that you as a manager are not aware of. Managers do not have visibility into every “corner” of the firm, so each and every team member plays an integral part in helping the firm improve by keeping lines of communication open.
Performance Reviews – Reviews should not be used as a threat, EVER. Reviews are in place to give each team member an idea of how they are doing and how they can improve. They are not meant to cause fear and panic.
Unchanging Process – Any firm that does not constantly reevaluate their process will not succeed in the long run. Forward thinking will help keep your firm competitive in it’s current market.
Cutting Costs – This is another statement that seems to cause fear, especially with our country’s current economic status.
Work Better – Stating that an employee should work better is not constructive or clear. As a manager, it is your responsibility to make sure that your employee fully understands what “work better” means to you. Set clear goals.
Management teams and employees alike need to be mindful of what the say and how they say it. Using tact in the business world is key to successful communication.