“Don’t forget to get that report in tomorrow!”

“Don’t forget to get me those numbers!

“Don’t forget to send me that article!”

People love to tell me what happens at work and this month I have heard this one more than once: “My boss is always reminding me to do things. Why? I do my job well and get things done on time.”

When I ask managers why they do this (and so many do), their answers fall into two categories. 1) They are “supporting” busy employees so they can do a good job, or 2) They’ve been disappointed before and want to prevent it.

If you’re a reminder-manager, you should know that the good performers who receive your reminders are irritated by them. They feel micromanaged. They want to say, “I’m not a child!” They do not feel “supported” by you with reminders.

If your employees don’t get things done on time and you’re always waiting for the other shoe to drop, there’s a cure for that that doesn’t involve “reminding.” Feedback. The sharing of your observations and a productive dialogue to solve the performance issues.

In a nutshell, you share your observations with the person and get ready to listen for the root cause and then brainstorm a solution together. It might sound like this: “Pat, I’d like to talk with you about deadlines. I’ve noticed in the past couple months that you’ve missed most of them by a day, a week, or more. When I remind you, you usually produce something. The impact is that I’m having to continually follow up with you rather than you producing proactively. Let’s talk about that.” You don’t know what Pat will say but the goal is to get them talking so you can understand. When you’ve got both points of view on the table you work together to solve whatever the problem is, make an agreement, and set a date for a follow up.

If you’d like my free guide to giving feedback, connect with me here on LinkedIn or call me and I’ll send it. No pestering included.

In the meantime, challenge yourself on your management habits. Your employees will appreciate it.

Christine

Silver Business Solutions 831-588-6191

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/manager-mistake-month-christine-silver-shrm-cp/

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