In the simplest sense, managers and employees are in a relationship. Here are five pet peeves from good employees.
By Suzanne Peterson
Associate Professor of Management
In the simplest sense, managers and employees are in a relationship. As with all relationships, there are a few deal breakers — the things one person does that drive the other crazy. I consistently hear about five pet peeves, in particular, that bother employees.
I can't stand it when my manager….
- Sends a cryptic message asking to see me.
We've all been there. Your manager sends you an unexpected instant message, text, e-mail or voice mail, or stops by with a version of the following: "Do you have five minutes?" "Can you stop by when you get a second?" "Can you call my cell when you get this message?" "Can we chat about something before you leave today?"
These kinds of messages drive employees crazy because they typically have no idea what the manager wants to discuss. The employee assumes the worst. Next time, avoid the guessing game by simply telling the person why you want to see him or her.
- Makes it a "group" thing when it's not.
Managers are famous for saying what "we" (i.e., the team) need to do differently. For example, "We can't keep missing deadlines," or "We have to pay more attention to detail."
This is fine if everyone on the team has the issue. However, more often than not, only a few team members have the problem. Think about how the employees who do meet their deadlines and pay attention to detail feel. Managers make issues into a "group thing" because it's easier. They can avoid having difficult conversations with the one or two guilty folks. But that can create other problems.
- Says he or she will follow up and then doesn't.
An employee comes to the manager because he or she is curious about the chances for a raise or some other important issue. The manager says, "Let me do some digging and get back to you on this." Unfortunately, the manager never gets back to him or her.
The employee is left wondering whether the manager did any "digging" in the first place or whether the answer is just not a good one. The bottom line is, if a manager promises to follow up, then he or she should do so every time.
- Delivers a lower-than-expected performance review and fails to give any reasons why or any advice on how to improve.
This is bad on two fronts. First, why is the review lower than expected? Information revealed during review time should never be a surprise. Employees should know what is coming, so they can prepare. Second, employees expect to know why they were rated a certain way and want to know how to improve.
Telling them: 1.) They are too early in the current role to get a higher review, or 2.) there is a distribution to adhere to and someone had to fall in the lower tier are not good answers. Be ready with at least two things the individual can do differently to improve the review next time.
- Runs a poor meeting.
Meetings that do not have an agenda, that run late or where nothing gets accomplished reflect poorly on the manager.
Managers need to plan for their meetings, run a tight ship, and have a strong sense of what they want to get done in each meeting. Even if the meeting is just to brainstorm, be clear about this (e.g., "Let's have a 30-minute meeting just to get ideas on paper. I'd like to end with at least three viable ideas around how we can improve the sales process.")
First published in The Arizona Republic,
May 31, 2014.
