Too many leaders over-relate and under-listen.
The meeting unfolded like most of her other performance reviews. Michelle and her manager discussed sales numbers, future goals, and her contributions to the team. Then, in need of support, she decided to confide in him about a challenge she was having with a colleague from another department. Let’s call him Dave. When working on projects, Dave had consistently failed to take Michelle’s ideas seriously, and outright discluded her from informal team gatherings, like “grabbing a beer after work.”
As Michelle described the situation, her boss interjected, “I understand what that’s like and I know how you feel. The best way forward is to ignore it and move on.” He then changed the subject.
Source: Mentors, Stop Saying “I Understand”
Categories: strategy
Leave a Reply