MBS business coach named the most common mistakes in communication between a manager and a subordinate

Mistake number 1: giving prepared solutions

Antonina Lebedinskaya conditionally divided employees into three levels of competence: beginner, superficial experience and expert. Each of them is worth setting tasks differently.

For example, a manager may “chew” a task to an employee who already has little experience. In this case, the leader does not use his subordinate’s thinking to solve the problem, but only reinforces the “no need to think, just do what you said” model.

As a result, where you need to think, the employee is more likely to continue to do what was said. Hence the consequences of the type: “I did not think”, “I did not see”, “I was not told” and “I always did this,” Lebedinskaya noted.

Instead of giving out-of-the-box solutions, it is worth designating the task, deadlines, clarifying how the employee intends to solve it, asking clarifying questions about the choice of one or another action when performing work.

Mistake #2: Supervising highly-skilled, experienced employees

As a rule, experienced employees value freedom and trust. They are used to clearly performing the assigned tasks, so the leader does not consider it necessary to control their every step. However, there is another category of employees who, despite their experience, still do not work effectively enough. This may be due to low motivation: they put off tasks until the last moment, they are lazy, they work on the principle of “how to stress less”.

Lack of control over such employees can lead to missed deadlines, failed KPIs, etc. Then the leader begins to exercise hypercontrol in relation to his subordinate. Subsequently, the employee’s motivation drops even more, resistance to the manager grows, and conflicts arise.

When setting the task, the manager must say why it is important, inform that he does not intend to control the employee, inform the deadline for completing the work and the criteria for a good result.

When a third of the time allotted to a task has passed, you may find a reason to contact the employee on another topic. The reason can be any, not related to the task. And at the end of the conversation, ask “at the same time” how things are going with homework. This approach is also called “corridor check”, when the manager accidentally meets a subordinate in the corridor and casually asks how the work on task X is progressing.

Mistake #3: Praise instead of motivation

More managers are realizing the need to give positive feedback to employees. This certainly has a positive impact on employee motivation. However, it’s not exactly the influence executives expect to receive.

If you need a boost, energy, activity, then an important tool is not praise. The fact is that the drive is born at the finish line, when success is still ahead. Therefore, in order to gain momentum for an employee, you can speak in this format: “well done, we will try a little more, and then …”, “there is very little left, let’s invest in this as much as possible, and then …”, etc. .

Mistake #4: Publicly criticizing employees

Often, managers scold their subordinates without understanding the reasons, and, moreover, they can do it in the presence of the whole team. This approach is quite dangerous and causes negativity on the part of the subordinate and negatively affects the work itself. This demotivates both the one who was criticized and the one who became a witness.

In such situations, it is better for a leader to discuss the current situation without strangers: find out the cause and find a solution. Here it is also important to discuss the action, and not the personality of the employee himself.

Lebedinskaya recommends abandoning criticism altogether, replacing it with the development of comments. In her opinion, criticism always demotivates and generates resistance, no matter what format it takes.

Error number 5: unwillingness or inability to delegate authority

Fear of losing control and perfectionism lead some managers to refuse to delegate part of their tasks to subordinates. However, the delegation of authority is a key aspect of leadership. With his help, the manager develops the team and achieves the goals.

Here it is important to determine the goals that need to be broken down into specific tasks and to understand what powers can be delegated to others. In addition, it is important to choose a form of control that corresponds to the competence and motivation of the employee, evaluate the results of the work of his subordinates and give feedback.