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6/20/2017 |
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7 Uncomfortable Conversations You Hate Having With Your Boss (And How to Have Them Anyway) |
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7 Uncomfortable Conversations You Hate Having With Your Boss (And How to Have Them Anyway) by Kristen Bahler In today’s multigenerational workforce, life tends to come at you faster than ever—and with that, diminished boundaries between you and your superiors. The way you communicate with your boss used to be a bit more polished and measured, but with the rise of social media and everyone following everyone, along with a constant stream of in-office instant message conversations and Slack chatter, it’s harder than ever to see where the lines are drawn. But that doesn’t mean every conversation is easy. There’s no employee handbook for dealing with your superiors, but with the right framing, these days you can talk to them about just about anything. Here are seven uncomfortable conversations many of us will face over the course of our careers, and expert advice for powering through them. The Problem: You Hate Their Strategy Sometimes, leaders make bad decisions and if you sense your manager is making a damaging strategic decision, it’s okay to tell her so. Before you bring it up, make sure you have some well-researched alternatives to the future company roadmap—and find some common ground to kick off the conversation. “The more you can get people to nod early with small wins, the more likely they are going to keep nodding with things they may have disagreed on initially,” says Tammy Erickson, a workplace expert and executive fellow of organizational behavior at London Business School. What to say: “Last week, we talked about how consumer tastes are changing, and what we can do to keep up with them. You outlined one solution, but I think there are a few others worth considering. Here’s why.” The Problem: You Hate Your Coworker You’re not going to click with everyone in your professional life, and in most cases the best advice is to get over it. That said, if a teammate’s behavior is so egregious that it impacts your work, or the business in general, it needs to be addressed. First, evaluate if it’s worth making this your boss’s problem. If there’s a behavior issue, like constant deadline stretching that threatens your goals, you may try talking to the colleague directly. The same goes for social quirks—if your coworker is constantly making private, distracting phone calls, it’s probably worth having a polite conversation about the impact that’s having on the office. If the issue isn’t reconcilable, or if talking to your colleague directly didn’t work, tap the chain of command—but be sure to have a solution in mind. “Look at this from your boss’s perspective,” Erickson says. “You don’t want to just dump something on their lap that’s going to make their life more difficult. Give them an out.” What to say: “Joe and I are having a really tough time working together. We’ve talked about it directly, and weren’t able to find a solution. If there’s an opportunity, can I be assigned to a different team?” Read full article on Money.
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