Don't Be That Boss: How Great Communicators Get the Most Out of Their Employees and Their Careers

Chapter 4. 10:00 am Frustration and Satisfaction: Strategic Plan Update

10:01: Lynn Gives Chad Some Breathing Room

As soon as John leaves the office, Chad swivels to his computer screen. He knows he's received an e-mail from Lynne. He saw it out of the corner of his eye while he was working with John, but he won the inner struggle and left his BlackBerry alone. As soon as John left, Chad whirled around to see the message from Lynne.

Re: Re: Re: SPREADSHEET

I'm glad you're on top of this. Keep me posted about what happens.

Lynne

This is really good news for him. Lynne is letting him know that she will stay on the sidelines, giving Chad the Boss the chance to kiss and make up with subordinate Phil—a very valuable team member. Remarkably, she chose not to castigate Chad for letting the situation get so out of hand that Phil thought he had to escalate the issue up to her. She realized the achievement-conscious Chad was probably sufficiently mortified by Phil's e-mail. She saw no money in stepping on his neck; and she was right.

This type of brief, clear, and insightful e-mail message has won Lynne the respect of all the division managers. They like having her as a boss because she's patient, allowing them to find their own way. The division heads envy her quiet strength; they watch how she can accomplish a goal, sometimes with nothing more than a nudge or two. She is also very explicit about what displeases her, just as she had been when she reprimanded Chad for using his BlackBerry during ...