Five Mistakes Even Good Managers Make

Even great managers can easily fall victim to the greatest workplace problem, which is fear.

Workplace fear is the ever-present, overarching topic that nobody talks about.

Fear gets people to do things that don't square with their values. Fear makes people behave childishly and say mean things, even to people they like and respect.

When people are afraid, they become irrational and lose their bearings.

Managers have many things to be afraid of.

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They are afraid of looking bad in their managers' eyes, or of losing their bonus. They are afraid of missing their targets and being called on the carpet.

The more fearful a manager is, the worse it is to work under them! Real leaders have courage -- but courage is a slippery thing. It comes and goes. One minute we feel powerful, and the next minute we are afraid again.

It would be great if all of us, including managers, could be honest about that.

It would be wonderful if your manager could be honest enough to tell you "I love your idea, Sarah, but honestly I'm afraid my boss Pam won't like it. I'm nervous about her reaction. Maybe you and I can strategize about the best way to approach Pam with this idea."

A strong leader will come right out and say "I get afraid sometimes, too" and "I need your  help." A weak leader would never disclose that much!

Here are five mistakes even terrific managers make, because when fear hits us, it overpowers our good judgment.

Five Mistakes Even Good Managers Make

1. They shoot the messenger.

2. They shoot first and ask questions later.

3. They make promises they can't keep (and then deny making the promise).

4. They get mad at reality.

5. They devalue your contributions -- because acknowledging them is too risky.

Even good managers can get mad at an employee who brings them bad news -- shooting the messenger, in other words.

Shooting the messenger is terrible thing to do because it discourages employees from being truthful when things aren't going well.

A variation on shooting the messenger is the old (bad) management dictum "Don't bring me a problem unless you also have a solution."

This is just another way of dissuading people from talking about problems.

In this complex age, the person who sees a problem doesn't always have the solution to it, which may require managerial participation and the input of many other people.

That's why it is foolish and counterproductive to tell employees "Don't tell me about problems unless you have a solution in mind!"

Fear makes us irrational.

It makes our heart beat faster and dulls our mental sharpness. When managers are afraid, the primal fight-or-flight reflex kicks in. They may act before thinking the situation through. Even good managers have this problem. They shoot first -- and ask questions later.

They act in haste. This leads to bad decision-making and causes more problems than it solves.

The more your confidence grows, the easier it will be for you to tell your manager "Let's not act on this right now -- our thinking will be clearer tomorrow."

Many an otherwise upright and trustworthy manager has made a promise to an employee that they later ignored -- or even denied having made in the first place.

Maybe they promised you a promotion or they promised they would hire someone to help you. When you followed up with them, they acted like they had no idea what you were talking about.

What made them do it? Fear, of course. Between making the promise and realizing they had to act on it, your manager lost their nerve.

Next time, get the promise in writing!

Even good managers get mad at reality and rail against the evil forces they believe are conspiring against them. There are no evil forces, but at work it's very easy to lose sight of the real world shifting and transforming outside our company walls.

Things change -- customers stop buying your product, good employees quit or the software tool you bought just six months ago proves inadequate for your needs -- and managers get mad.

The truth is that they are mad at themselves - but it's so much easier to make somebody else the villain in your movie!

It is very affirming to hear your manager say "You are amazing -- you help this department out so much!" or "I don't know what we would do without you."

Those words are nice, but many talented working people notice that as they get better at their job and take on more responsibility, the praise and acknowledgment start to dry up and then disappear.

Even when their contributions are enormous and make a tangible difference to the company's bottom line, their manager doesn't say a word about it. Why?

Your manager knows how valuable you are. They don't want to talk about it, because if they openly acknowledge that you save their rear end on a regular basis, they might have to act on it.

They might have to give you a pay raise or a promotion, and those are scary ideas for them. They don't want to have to go to their boss and ask for anything like that.

They want you to keep doing an outstanding job without asking for anything.

Once again, your manager is trying desperately to keep reality at bay!

Even a good manager needs a dose of reality every now and then. You can tell your manager when you need a pay adjustment to stay current with the market.

If they can't step through their fear to make the case to their manager, that's fine. Don't get mad at them -- they are merely showing you what they're capable of and what they aren't.

Be grateful to your manager for giving you the projects that let your flame grow so large -- so large that another employer will value it (and you) more than your current employer does!