Meryl Runion - Perfect Phrases for Managers and Supervisors: Hundreds of Ready-To-Use Phrases for Any Management Situation

Meryl Runion

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A Harris poll concludes that up to 85% of people in management positions have never had management training. My informal surveys at management seminars tell me this figure is conservative. People are promoted into management positions daily... and often are expected to manage without training or guidance. They make it up as they go along, through trial and error, without any understanding of what is required to get results from others.

The situation is made even more challenging by the fact that the workplace is more diverse than ever. There are a wide variety of cultures and personalities and there is a new generation of workers entering the workforce that is different from any before it. For this generation, respect is not given automatically: it needs to be earned. This generation is outspoken and can be difficult to manage,... but not impossible. Management skills are more important than ever.

Those essential management skills need to be developed in a managers free time. The term free time gets laughter when I use it in management seminars. The responsibility of management is often added to a work load that requires the new manager to do more with less. This leaves little or no time for new managers to study the skills necessary for success.

This book gives accidental (and intentional) managers and supervisors immediate benefits by providing words to use in hundreds of management situations. It is an essential reference that will allow you to manage more effectively by providing Perfect Phrases for almost every situation you are likely to face. They are quick and easyand they work.

Perfect Phrases is another name for PowerPhrases,a communication style I have been speaking and writing about for years. I have learned from years of management training and teaching PowerPhrases that if people do not know the words to say in a situation, they will usually not say anything at all. I frequently receive letters from managers who subscribe to my newsletter who tolerate inappropriate behavior from their subordinates. They ask me for the words to speak in situations they should have addressed years ago. When they find the words, they become willing to take action.

Other managers use aggressive words that create resistance, shut down communication, and backfire. Employees may respond to aggression in the short term, but it does not lead to maximum productivity and can cause passive-aggressive responses.

I have learned from teaching PowerPhrases around the world that most people alternate between passive and aggressive communication in sensitive situations. Most people do not know how to stay assertiveclear, direct, and respectful. Passive communication is ineffective. Aggressive communication creates resistance. Assertive communication gets results. Perfect Phrases are assertive phrases. They are valuable for managers to discover what effective, assertive wording is.

Unless you are a management communication natural, it is valuable to plan your words in advance. Whenever a situation is challenging, tension tends to create a fight-or-flight style of thinking that produces a passive-aggressive mindset. It is difficult to think of options when you are triggered, but it is easier to recall phrases you planned in advance.

Many people resist using scripted phrases for fear of sounding phony. If this manner of speaking is not natural to you, you may sound unnatural at first. However, a phony assertive is more effective than a genuine passive or aggressive. Also, often the phrases are so appropriate that they can seem natural. These are the phrases you would choose yourself if only you had thought of them.