10 Things Your Boss Isn’t Telling You

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10 isn't - and I'm not a boss. I just have good bosses.

asdf of AR 1:44PM June 23, 2011

Although most will hate to admit their own shortcomings, a majority of employees are guilty of at least 1 or 2 of the items on this list. Employees who need a considerable amount of improvement or coaching can relate to 4 or more items. Although my managerial style is rather candid and can be misinterpreted as abrasive or blunt, I can certainly say there are no misunderstandings. If something needs to be said, say it. After all, isn't that why you're a manager in the first place?

Krystle of NC 9:06PM May 24, 2011

.... get it.
If a manager is a micro-manager, this is what he or she does. This is how they work. They cannot change. There are good micro-managers but unfortunately most are micro-managers gone bad because they don't have the time or energy to properly micro-manage.
It doesn't matter what the employee is doing.

Daisy of PA 11:51AM May 12, 2011

9 and 10 are bull

Daisy of PA 11:45AM May 12, 2011

We created Spottiness.com to help people communicate anonymously, not only to provide criticism about anybody or anything but to reward excellence with anonymous recognition. For criticism we created Blackspots, and for good things, Goldspots. If your intention, however, is to communicate your crush with somebody: tip a Lovespot.
The targets of the spots can also respond, publicly or privately.

Spottiness.com of DE 2:41PM April 30, 2011

Nice insights on what managers should coach their people about.

Victoria of PA 7:13AM April 28, 2011

The above top ten sounds like a lot of managers I know. They just don't like the competition.

DD of AR 7:00AM April 27, 2011

If you think Japan is a role model for labor relations, you are either extremely ignorant or a huge fool. The typical Japanese salaryman works a 12 hour day, not because there is so much work to be done but because of a huge unspoken pressure to stay in the office longer than the boss. This in turn has adversely affected the entire society: young adults do not want these jobs because they see the stress it places upon the workers, wives never see their husbands, children never see their fathers, and suicide rates are always amongst the highest in the world. Additionally, you speak of the unity of Japanese society, but that ignores the blatant racism, ageism, and sexism still rampant in all sectors in Japan. Good luck getting a job if you're a woman over 40, you should be home taking care of your children anyway (or so the sentiment goes).
Anyway this entire rant is absolutely irrelevant to Alison's post, which was excellent. Thank you for sharing this.

nikkei of CA 2:50PM April 26, 2011

I find it deplorable that people in the USA tend to take a stand on work related topics and where they stand is directly related to where they sit (or where their backgrounds bring them to the conflict effects their opinion. I find it terrible that our once mighty economy and nation has now been reduced to a country of have and have nots with the middle class pretty much relegated to living on the street unemployed because neither government (passing of Nafta) nor management was willing to fight to keep American jobs in this country. Compare this to the Japanese
who as a people are remarkable in their ability to stick together and support each other. In Japan management, labor and the government all work together to see to it that everyone has a job. If one industry is phasing out they retrain them to do another and shift whole company groups over to new manufacturing plans and plants rather than use massive layoffs. They have very successful 10 yr plans to take over whole industries, and have succeeded in the camera, electronics and automotive industries to take them over and capture them.They know what empathy is and support each other because they see it as a fight for their nation to survive.Quite remarkable when you consider they have 2/3ds the population of the USA but only a fraction of the land mass with few resources except their brainpower.
If our economy and dollar collapses it will only be because of unwillingness to work together and support each other not because of some egotistical self centered economic model that says my group is the ideal and everyone else can go to hell. We need to learn a lesson from Japan. The bible says if you humble yourself you will be exalted, and if you exalt yourself you will be humbled. I fear that the time for America to be humbled is at hand.

Realitybetraysusall of CA 6:05PM April 25, 2011

How did you read this article and see contempt for labor - and I really don't see how any of this could be used as a rallying cry in support of unions.
I really don't think labor unions spend a lot of time negotiating Facebook time, how chatty one is in a meeting, or how obsequious a report should be with their manager.
First of all if your boss is reticent to tell you that you're talking too much in meetings or spending too much time on Facebook, you're probably not in a job typically unionized or what most would consider traditional labor. Although there are exceptions.
If anything, this list addresses the ways in which management can sometimes be too deferential to their direct reports - to the detriment of the workplace.
I loved this. I think lists like this are very helpful in breaking down some common issues into manageable bytes...and it's food for thought for anyone who has a boss.
Personally, while negative feedback is never pleasant I would rather have any of the above issues brought to my attention by my boss - so I can correct my own performance when needed and not allow unspoken criticism to silently stall my career because no one wanted to hurt my feelings.

Jamie of IL 3:15PM April 25, 2011