Everyone occasionally says the wrong thing to the wrong person. After you backpedal furiously and apologize, the matter is usually put to rest and both of you can move on.<\/p>\n
However, when that \u201cwrong person\u201d happens to be your boss, the awkwardness-level gets cranked to 10. Worse, you could lose out on that raise or promotion you\u2019ve been gunning for. Worse yet, you could be fired.<\/p>\n
To avoid that kind of catastrophe and keep your job and dignity in tact, heed these things you should never say to your boss.<\/p>\n
You want to make more money? Shocking.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone wants a raise, so you\u2019re not saying anything that your boss doesn\u2019t know,\u201d says Nicole Wood, CEO and co-founder of career coaching firm Ama La Vida.<\/p>\n
But hold your tongue and don\u2019t make demands of your manager, particularly when it comes to salary.<\/p>\n
The big problem with this four-word statement is your phrasing, says Chrissy Scivicque, career coach and founder of EatYourCareer.com. \u201cThe fact that you \u2018need\u2019 more money because your car broke down or your kid has to get braces aren\u2019t good reasons for a raise,\u201d she says, adding that a salary bump should be something that you\u2019ve clearly earned.<\/p>\n
Say instead:<\/em> \u201cI\u2019d like to discuss a raise based on my performance this past quarter.\u201d Then, cite important milestones, and quantify your accomplishments where possible; for example, \u201cI negotiated a new contract with an existing vendor, which saved the company $20,000 over the next six months.\u201d<\/p>\n This is one of the most common complaints managers hear from direct reports, says Tim Cole, CEO at career coaching firm The Compass Alliance. But badmouthing a colleague can paint you in a negative light\u2014plus managers don\u2019t want to have to deal with petty arguments between co-workers.<\/p>\n If you have an issue with a peer, try to resolve it with the person directly. If it\u2019s not possible, and the issue is negatively impacting your work, bring it to your boss\u2019 attention, but proceed with caution.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t make it a character assassination,\u201d Wood says. Instead, point out specific things your peer has done to create a problem, and present a solution.<\/p>\n Say instead:<\/em> \u201cJim is consistently late filing his reports to me, which is pushing back production and threatening the deadline. Here\u2019s what I recommend we do.\u201d<\/p>\n Using the aforementioned situation, let\u2019s say you missed the deadline on account of Jim holding up production. Your initial reaction would be to blame Jim. Bad move. When something goes wrong, don\u2019t scramble to point the finger at other people. You have to take responsibility for your project, Cole says.<\/p>\n Granted, you don\u2019t want to simply accept blame\u2014you should also explain how you\u2019re going to avoid repeating the mistake in the future.<\/p>\n Say instead:<\/em> \u201cI understand that this is an issue. Here\u2019s what happened, and here\u2019s how I\u2019m going to prevent it from happening again.\u201d<\/p>\n No one wants to work with someone that\u2019s resistant to change. \u201cManagers want employees who can adapt and find new ways of doing things more effectively,\u201d says Scivicque.<\/p>\n Translation: When your boss asks you to do something differently, don\u2019t get defensive\u2014respond positively, Cole advises.<\/p>\n Say instead:<\/em> \u201cThis sounds like a great idea. I\u2019d love any recommendations you have on how to do this, since it\u2019s different than how we\u2019ve done it in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n Nothing good can come from telling your boss you won\u2019t do something because it\u2019s not part of your job description. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what you were hired to do,\u201d Wood says. \u201cYou should be willing to contribute in new ways.\u201d<\/p>\n That being said, if your manager asks you to do something that would be a better fit for a co-worker based on your peer\u2019s area of expertise, don\u2019t be afraid to express that to your boss.<\/p>\n Say instead:<\/em> \u201cI\u2019m happy to take care of that for you. This is something that Jon normally handles, though. Would you like me to delegate it to him, or would you like me to tackle it this time?\u201d<\/p>\n If your boss asks you to do something that you believe is outside the scope of your position, you should express your concern. The key, however, is to use a neutral tone.<\/p>\n Say instead:<\/em> \u201cI don\u2019t think I have the authority to make that decision. Do you think ____ would be more appropriate to handle this task?\u201d<\/p>\n Many people believe that declining a new project or assignment can be perceived as being lazy or underperforming, but you don\u2019t want to become so overwhelmed that quality of your work suffers. Hence, it\u2019s important to speak up if you\u2019re feeling maxed out, but avoid whining to your boss.<\/p>\n Say instead:<\/em> \u201cRight now I don\u2019t think I have the bandwidth to take on this new assignment, but if this is a priority, can you help me reorganize what I\u2019m working on?\u201d If possible, offer your manager a solution to how you can reduce your workload (e.g. \u201cOur new account needs my attention this week. Can we delegate this assignment to Amanda, since she\u2019s worked with this client in the past?\u201d)<\/p>\n Find yourself just sitting at your desk daydreaming? If so, it\u2019s your responsibility to look for ways to fill your spare time. \u201cIf you just say, \u2018I\u2019m bored,\u2019 you\u2019re dumping the problem on your boss\u2019 shoulders,\u201d Wood says.<\/p>\n Your best tactic is to find out if your manager has any tasks that could be passed on to you. Offer to look at your department\u2019s procedures and see where you can introduce efficiencies.<\/p>\n Say instead:<\/em> \u201cHere are some things that I\u2019d like to be working on. Can I expand my responsibilities to take on these tasks, or is there something else you\u2019d like me to take off your plate?\u201d<\/p>\n Contributed by Monster.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sometimes you just need to bite your tongue. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,42,130],"tags":[104],"class_list":["post-513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-management-leadership","category-on-the-job","category-people-culture","tag-boss"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=513"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":517,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513\/revisions\/517"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\u201cI can\u2019t stand working with ____.\u201d<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not my fault.\u201d<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\u201cBut we\u2019ve always done it this way.\u201d<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not part of my job.\u201d<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s above my pay grade.\u201d<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\u201cI have too much on my plate.\u201d<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\u201cI\u2019m bored.\u201d<\/strong><\/h5>\n