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5 Things Good Bosses Want To Hear
3. “I disagree with you.”
“I told you!”
I had just been wrong on something and my old boss had been right. Instead of just letting me learn and move on while gnawing some humble pie, my boss saw it as a time to make hay.
“I’ll teach you guys not to question me!” he roared.
“See! I told you! You guys should just listen to me when I tell you something.”
I finally had enough of his victory dance.
“You were right boss, but now you’re suggesting you want us to just be quiet and say we agree no matter what you say because you are always right? So you’d prefer order-takers over independent thinkers?”
(Silence).
He knew I was getting at something important, so he stopped his “see, I told you so” dance.
I’ve studied and practiced leadership in military, business, and volunteer positions for 25 years I’ve noticed a few things good bosses want to hear.
Here they are.
1. “I think…(and this may hurt).”
Good bosses always want to know what people think even if it’s not what they want to hear.
