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7 Things a Boss Should Never Say to Their Team
“This should be easy, come on people!” our boss huffed as she looked down her nose upon us imbeciles seated in front of her.
“If we’re not understanding it right away, it’s not because we’re mental midgets,” I thought. “It’s because you’re not explaining it well enough or we just need some time to absorb it.”
But her air of condescending intelligence seeded with impatience hung above the room like an ominous cloud, threatening all possible questions and engagement into not leaving the safe shelter of our minds.
“So does that make sense now?” she said after irritatingly explaining something a (gasp) second time.
We knew if we said no or had questions she’d get more frustrated and smack us down so we all silently nodded “yes.” We could tell that’s what she really wanted over true understanding.
We’d figure it out ourselves later without the unpalatable side dish of condescension and impatience.
If your people don’t understand something, that’s your problem, not theirs. It’s your job as the leader to make sure tasks are understood and if they’re not, look in the mirror at your explanation methods first.