7 Things Your Boss Should Never Say to You ...

1. “I Pay You, so You Must do What I Say!”

The most important of the things your boss should never say to you is precisely this one. Okay, your boss does pay your salary but that doesn’t give him the right to do whatever he wants with you. You’re not his slave and he’s definitely not your master. You signed a contract so you do have certain responsibilities but that doesn’t mean that he has the right to ask you to do anything and he should keep that into account the next time he might be tempted to say that.

2. “Because I Said so.”

If your dream is to become somebody’s boss someday, remember to never say such a thing. You will only seem immature and rigid or even uptight. Maybe your employees do have an amazing idea that could bring you profit, so you should at least let them try their solution. Hear them out first; let them prove you that they do have something that could work and “never impose on another what you would not choose for yourself”. As a leader, you should be inspiring and encouraging!

3. “I Don’t Want to Listen to Your Complaints.”

Well, I do understand why it can’t be so pleasant listening to someone’s complaints, especially if they are not grounded, but as a boss, it’s his obligation to do it. A great leader should always ask for feedback, even if sometimes that feedback might be negative. After all, that’s part of his job and those complaints might help him solve different problems that could exist inside his company, so he should always be receptive and approachable.

4. “You Should Work Better.”

A good manager should know that if he wants to see some results, he’ll need to communicate better with his employees. He will have to be more specific and he would have to give his employees the tools they need to obtain those results. He should also set some reasonable deadlines and even offer to help in order to make sure that his employees really understood his explanations. An exceptional boss should never give vague instruction like the very popular phrase “You should work better.”.

5. “We Have Always Done It This Way.”

If you aspire of becoming a good manager someday, you must know that you shouldn’t, under any circumstances, crush your employees’ initiative because they already know how they should do their job and maybe they even know a lot more than you about it. You shouldn’t underestimate your workers; instead you could encourage them to be more creative and innovative.

6. “You Should Always Be Loyal to Our Company.”

A lot of bosses (especially those who have spent a lot of money training their employees) may think that a good employee should always keep his current job in their company even if in the meantime he might get a better offer, or a higher position in some other company that might even help him make more money. If you’re one of those mangers, you should know that if a person is really really good at his job, you should reward him or at least try to win his loyalty because this is not something that is put in the contract.

7. “You Should Spend More Time at Work!”

Well, maybe you’ve chosen to work seven days a week or stay at the office late every night, but you shouldn’t ask your employees to do the same. They won’t be very productive and you would definitely abuse your authority in this situation. Every person needs a break now and then and everyone has their own working style, and this could mean that someone is doing more in 5 hours than you’ve managed to do all day. Just because a person spends more time doing a certain thing doesn’t mean they work better or harder.

A good manager knows that he must be a great leader, that he must set a good example, that he should respect his employees, so that’s why he should always praise them in public and criticize them in private. Despite all that, a lot of bosses still make lots of mistake when it comes to dealing with their employees. Have you been in this situation? Did your boss ever say some things to you that he shouldn’t have? Please share your experience with us!