Working words Sept 1st

As I see it, when you become a manager, you really need to dial-in how you act and communicate.

If you move up into management, there’s no way you can talk to someone, who was once a peer co-worker, the same way now that you’re in charge of them.

You’re in a whole different type of relationship now.  You’re in charge of directing and getting the work moved forward.  

So we need to focus on that and tweak our talk a bit.

Here’s an example –

There is a difference between saying “how’s it going?”  and saying how’s it going with and name something specific. For instance, “how’s it going with the load? (or cleaning the case, or making today’s salads?)

The latter is more focused, specific and implies moving the work forward.

Just that small tweak can really keep the work on track.

Here’s another one-

“We have 2 people out today, what a hassle, do what you can.”  Maybe change that around to – “We have 2 people out today, what’s your thoughts on how we can get the load done?”

Bam

Now you have a dynamic conversation going that can roll into possibilities for action.

There’s so many of these little changes you can make in your communication with staff that can make a big difference.

I actually think it’s fun to come up with them.  Think of a statement and change it around a bit to focus and energize it.  

It’s those little day-to-day habits that compound and make managing an uplifting and rewarding experience.