Page 137 - Becoming a Successful Manager

128 ESTABLISHING A SOLID DEPARTMENTAL FOUNDATION

do if an employee failed to meet your expectations? What would you
do if you were disappointed with an employee who did not fulfi ll a
promise? These are serious issues. How do you correct an employee
without being offensive? How do you criticize without being critical?
How do you confront without being confrontational?
The hard truth is that when an employee does something that
is harmful to your department’s culture, or does something you
know is wrong, you must let the person know. In such cases, you

have the specific obligation to tell your employees what they did
wrong, explain why the action disappointed you, provide whatever
help they need to correct the situation, and make sure they under-
stand what they can do to prevent a recurrence. The secret is in
the ability to deliver the message clearly, but package it as a gift.
Achieving that is the subject of this chapter.

Change Begins with Awareness

Put yourself in the employee’s shoes for a moment: Imagine you
are an employee who inadvertently has not fulfi lled several of your
manager’s expectations, or who exercised poor judgment in han-
dling a customer complaint, or who did something else that is
unacceptable to your manager. How would you want your man-
ager to address the situation? Here are four possible responses:

• Ignore your actions so as not to hurt your feelings.
• Chastise you, either privately or in front of your colleagues,
and make you feel guilty or stupid.
• Tell you what you did wrong but offer no suggestions for
improving.
• Call your attention to what you did or didn’t do that was
unacceptable, determine the cause of your misdemeanor,