Top 50 Worst Things to Say in the Workplace
In our latest Tactful Communication Workplace Survey, we asked four hundred supervisors, managers, leaders and front line staff from various industries in six states and ten countries to share statements they made, or heard others communicate that were considered untactful and made others defensive. Here are the top 50 statements as a result of the survey: 1. “That’s not my job” 2. “Why can’t you do it” 3. “I’m here to work, I’m not here to make friends” 4. “I’m busy can you get all of this” 5. “I’m right, you’re not” 6. “You don’t know what you’re talking about” 7. “I’ve told you how this is done before” 8. “I don’t work for you” 9. “He’s not pulling his weight” 10. “I’m always the one doing the work” 11. “Just do your job” 12. “What have you been doing all day” 13. “He did it, not me” 14. “This is your fault” 15. “Do it or go home” 16. “I’m busy” 17. “You don’t pay me enough” 18. “No place could be lousier than this” 19. “Well, I just assumed… [insert anything here]” 20. “They should be happy to have a job” 21. ”I don’t have time to babysit you” 22. “Its your baby now” 23. “That’s not how we did it at my old job” 24. “Thats not how we do it around here” 25. “Don’t expect me to bail you out” 26. “There are several unemployed people waiting for your job” 27. “I’m not here to be nice to people” 28. “I’m not paid to think” 29. “Why do I get the all the dirty work” 30. “You do know I can get a college intern to do your job for free” 31. “Sorry…I can’t. That wasn’t in my job description” 32. “We don’t look for creativity in our employees” 33. “I am busy” 34. “I can only do this job” 35. “Your procrastination is not my emergency” 36. “No one listens to me” 37. “I didn’t sign up for this $#% !” 38. “You’re all alone on this one” 39. “What the customer doesn’t know won’t hurt them” 40. “She/he just got the job because they are (fill in the blank) with the boss” 41. “I don’t know” (with no follow up) 42. Hold that thought, I will get back to you” (NOT) 43. “Yes” to everything …. and then not delivering 44. “Why me?” 45. “I don’t work for you I work for the organization” 46. “We already tried that, and it doesn’t work” 47. “You’re wasting your time” 48. “Don’t worry. I will take care of it” (fail to follow through) 49. “I don’t have time to talk to you” 50. “Told you so” What statement would you add to this list? Tell us in a comment below. Learn how on-site training can help your team develop tactful communication...
Read MoreWorst Performing Leaders: 5 Qualities that Define Them
In 2015, we analyzed 360 leadership feedback data on 1,000 managers supervisors, and senior level leaders, as well as the most popular leadership training and executive coaching requests and discovered patterns and themes in the “worst performing” and “least effective” managers and leaders. The Worst Performing Managers, Supervisors, and Executives: Inability to communicate clear vision and direction When employees ask them “why they are performing a certain task,” they respond by saying, “you worry about it doing your job, and let me worry about why you’re doing it.” They focus on daily, monthly, quarterly goals, and fail to creatively connect those activities to long-term strategic priorities so employees can understand the big picture. The majority of their staff cannot explain the organization’s strategic vision, which explains their tendencies to make decisions with a silo mindset. Fail to develop others They can rarely miss work without being repeatedly called or emailed to answer questions or resolve issues. Due to their job insecurity, they rarely share organizational/job knowledge with those they perceive as threats and the potential to outshine them. They assign busy, tedious work and when employees complain, they say “well don’t ask for development opportunities if you can’t handle the workload.” Closed minded They say they have an open door policy, while simultaneously having a close minded policy by resisting staff suggestions for improvements and innovative ideas. The long-term impacts of this behavior is low employee survey response rates, minimal participation in meetings, and the development of “paycheck only mentalities.” Lack energy and enthusiasm They have a go-through-the-motions mindset. They skip training opportunities, announce changes in processes or procedures with a disloyal and sarcastic tone , and rarely deliver employee praise and recognition of performance. Instead, they say “they should be glad to have a job.” Inability to adapt to various personality styles It’s their way or the highway! They expect and demand employees adapt to their leadership style. They manage and treat all employees the same way, from high performers to low performers. They perceive others with different communication styles as “problem players.” When asked too many questions, (especially by new employees) they perceive them as challenging their authority. Learn how on-site training can equip your managers to be high-performing authentic...
Read MoreEmployees with Paycheck Mentalities?
“If your employees do not connect to a purpose, they will connect to a paycheck.” – James Bird Guess Are you a leader attempting to communicate purpose to your people? Think of a puzzle inside a box. A puzzle is made up of many pieces. The picture of what the puzzle is supposed to look like once it’s completed is shown on the outside of the box. This “big picture” is like the vision for your organization, and the puzzle pieces represent the many tasks, goals, and responsibilities required to achieve the vision or big picture. Just imagine if you gave a team of people different amounts of puzzle pieces and told them to put the puzzle together by a deadline, and yet you never showed them the big picture on the box. They would still probably be able to complete the puzzle, but they would be able to do it much faster and with less frustration if they knew the purpose, the vision, the big picture of what it’s supposed to look like after all the hard work. Your job as an authentic leader is to keep showing them, keep reminding them in your own unique way, what the vision and big picture will look like once completed. From our experience, after having conducted on-site training for managers and supervisors in companies across the U.S. about 50 percent of an organization’s employees have “paycheck mentalities.” These employees are actually withholding anywhere from 15 to 25 percent of effort and energy, which means if their salary is roughly $50,000 annually, they are only contributing $37,500 worth of effort. Listed below are signs to look for: Neither fully committed nor uncommitted to daily work, direct manager, team and the organization. Perform just enough to get by and often go through the motions with tasks and duties. Does not see any connection between personal and professional goals with job duties and typically meets basic expectations. While that statistic may sound alarming, it is really an opportunity to for an organization’s leaders to reconnect with these employees before they become fully disengaged and problem employees. The most critical element on whether or not they become engaged or disengaged is the environment their direct manager or supervisor creates. Learn how on-site training equips managers to avoid creating “paycheck mentalities.” Click here to request article reprint...
Read MoreShould managers and leaders focus on being feared, liked or respected?
Should I be Feared Many managers focus on using fear or intimidation as their overall leadership style. And yes, they do get results. Employees will perform the required jobs, tasks and duties assigned, however they will not give their best performance, take ownership, be innovative or take initiative. Instead they will do just enough not to get fired. Although there are times when managers and leaders do have to be direct and firm in their communication, they must be careful not to overuse that leadership style, since employees do not want to work under a dictator style of leadership for an extended period of time. Some employees will quit and leave, others will quit and stay and start going through the motions at work simply to collect the paycheck. Should I be Liked Sometimes new and recently promoted managers think that if they can just get their employees to like them, they will perform better for them. This type of thinking is dangerous. If you’re focused on being liked, then your decisions and actions as a manager will become blurred since they will be based on if your employees will like you. Remember, you do not have to be best friends or buddy-buddy with your employees. They may like you on Monday for something you’ve done, and then can’t stand you on Friday for something else you’ve done. Being liked will change and fluctuate like the weather. Your employees do not necessarily have to like you in order to perform for you. If your employees happen to like you, that’s just icing on the cake. Should I be Respected Respect is something that you’re always in the process of earning from your employees. How do you earn it? Do what you say you’re going to do and be consistent. Also, admit mistakes and take full responsibility. A manger of a logistics company calls a team meeting every time he makes a significant mistake. In the meeting, he informs his team about the mistake, admits it without excuses, discusses the impacts to the team, and what he will do differently next time. Why does he do this? To reinforce the desired behavior of accountability in their minds. Employees respect leaders who are honest, have integrity and have their back. Protect your employees from other department heads and senior-level leaders. If they make mistakes, do not leave them by themselves to face the music. When your employees respect you, they will perform for you even if they disagree with you, or don’t really like you. If you work for the mafia, its better to be feared. If you work with kids at Disney World, its better to be liked. But if you’re manager or leader in today’s workplace, its more effective to be respected. Grind for...
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