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Four Things to Never Say to Your Boss

Words matter. And with social media, texting and other casual, short-cut means of communicating, professionals unknowingly use language that could cut short their careers. To keep your career on track, consider eliminating these four phrases from your workplace interactions, especially with the boss. 

“We tried that before and it didn’t work”

Nothing kills a productive meeting, brainstorming session or someone else’s excitement about an idea than a stick-in-the-mud who says: “We tried that before and it didn’t work.” Whether you say it to your boss or your peers, you aren’t doing anybody any favors. In fact, people may think you are uncooperative, lazy or uncreative. Others may be willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but it still isn’t helpful.

“That statement could contain useful information,” said Stevie Puckett, personal development consultant, “but it still requires the boss to dig a little for the details. It might be better to lead with what was learned from the last attempt.”

For example, why not say: The biggest difficulties we had last time around were a, b and c. This time, we could try x, y and z and see if that works better.

“Certain phrases demonstrate resistance,” Puckett said. “They put a stop to conversation unless the boss is willing to ask follow-up questions to dig for useful information.”

“I can’t”

When your boss and co-workers need you most, that’s the last thing they want to hear.  As children we learn to never utter those words and are encouraged to be confident in our abilities. As adults at work, it no longer comes across as a lack of confidence.

"I can't" more often delivers a vibe of "I could but it's too hard and I don't want to," Puckett said.

The message is clear: You won’t.

“That’s not possible”

Creative problem solving is a critical skill in today’s collaborative workplace. Your willingness to brainstorm and share ideas can make the difference in whether your boss sees you as an asset to projects that introduce new ideas or a change agent when things must be done differently.

"’That's not possible" is a very negative stance and a sure cue for a busy boss to move on to someone else for ideas,” Puckett said.

The boss probably won’t call on you when leadership is needed, either. If you can’t motivate yourself to get something done, surely you can’t be counted on to motivate others.

“I don’t have time/I have too much work”

Most of us have times when we feel overworked and underpaid, but only a fool would say out loud, and to the boss, “I don’t have time/I have too much work to do what you are asking me to do.

What you are really saying is you don’t understand your role.

For example, your boss may be a generalist and has to look at the big picture when making decisions about what has to be done. It is very possible that he or she needs your expertise as a specialist to determine how to make it happen.

It is up to you to gain clarity from the boss. Then, together you can discuss priorities and resources. In other words, it’s almost never a matter of ‘if’ it will be done, it is a matter of ‘how’ it will be done.

“Strive to be one who helps keep momentum going forward with relevant information and fresh ideas and you are more likely to be kept in the loop for the long run,” Puckett said.

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