Manager catch phrases

[Emergent]

We have a new manager at one of my jobs. Every interaction with her sounds like she's following a script learned at a leadership seminar. It feels very fake and insincere, and we all wish she'd go away.

She likes the phrase "I offer my sincere, professional apology" for instance. She sent an email with the minutes to the staff meeting, and offered the above phrase to preface her apology for sending it later than, I guess, she wanted to. She used it when she sent me an email with someone else's name. I heard her use the phrase in person as well. It's like dealing with an android or autobot.

She's full of lots of other canned catch phrases. There's lots of talk about team building, over the top praise, and followed by turds containing threats if we aren't compliant, then ending with some more sugary, team building cliches.

Have any of you experienced this? I'm not a fan of scripting. I'm sure there is value in learning leadership skills, but not if it turns you into an obvious phony.

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

"What do you mean you assumed? What are the first 3 letters of assumed...that's right, and that's what you are when you assume."

So I researched it and now I say "presume" (gotcha!)

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

As a risk manager, I have the opportunity to do a lot of apologizing on behalf of the providers, staff and organization. I like to say that years of marriage have made me an expert in apologizing for things that aren't even my fault.

Did you just tell us you're a man...:)

[RNperdiem, RN]

Thankfully I have had only wonderfully human, sincere nurse managers. None of them I have suspected of secretly being robots in disguise.

I recently was in a car accident. I am fine, but my car was not. Dealing with customer care department of the insurance company was exhausting because of the scripted jargon. The people on the phone piled it on; thankfully nurses have not had to deal with scripting to that extreme.

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

Oh, yeah. All the time. I have a suspicion that memorizing scripts is what people are doing for two years in MSN Leadership.

I do not know why, but the phrase "is there anything I can help you" said with the clearest meaning that things are what they are and nothing is going to be done about them pisses me right off. I got it, you can't divide as an yeast cell and send the second self to answer this call button. Life sucks sometimes. I know it, you know it. Then get off my neck and do not be yet another thing I have to pay attention to!

[djh123]

I was in Big Biz and Big Gummint for quite a few years (as a programmer), and I didn't like that stuff then either. Plain English is so much more digestable to the ears.

[TriciaJ, RN]

We have a new manager at one of my jobs. Every interaction with her sounds like she's following a script learned at a leadership seminar. It feels very fake and insincere, and we all wish she'd go away.

She likes the phrase "I offer my sincere, professional apology" for instance. She sent an email with the minutes to the staff meeting, and offered the above phrase to preface her apology for sending it later than, I guess, she wanted to. She used it when she sent me an email with someone else's name. I heard her use the phrase in person as well. It's like dealing with an android or autobot.

She's full of lots of other canned catch phrases. There's lots of talk about team building, over the top praise, and followed by turds containing threats if we aren't compliant, then ending with some more sugary, team building cliches.

Have any of you experienced this? I'm not a fan of scripting. I'm sure there is value in learning leadership skills, but not if it turns you into an obvious phony.

It's not leadership to talk like someone's pulling the string in your back.

[TriciaJ, RN]

Thankfully I have had only wonderfully human, sincere nurse managers. None of them I have suspected of secretly being robots in disguise.

I recently was in a car accident. I am fine, but my car was not. Dealing with customer care department of the insurance company was exhausting because of the scripted jargon. The people on the phone piled it on; thankfully nurses have not had to deal with scripting to that extreme.

Shhhh!

[NurseCard, ADN]

The only one that I can think of... I once had a DON that loved to use the

word "diligent". "You must be diligent". "We must be diligent".

Other than that, I've never had an immediate supervisor that used a lot of

canned phrases, but you know, upper management types use them a lot.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

What in the world is a professional apology?? I have never heard this before and it's cracking me up because an apology is an apology, didn't know there was a professional version and a unprofessional version. I have also never understood the "sincere" apology. All apologies should be sincere or what's the point of the apology?

But all "apologies" aren't sincere. The "I do apologize" one smacks of insincerity.

[lorias]

I can't stand the phrase "it takes a village" and another one that I'm sick of is "...going forward" and over used adjectives like "super" and "amazing". I also hate it when people say "oh my God" or "OMG" while texting because in my book that is blaspheming God. I agree that some of the phrases mentioned in earlier comments are pretty sickening. Why can't people just talk normally? I think we have been so indoctrinated to be "politically correct" (another phrase I despise) and no one can be offended nowadays that we are beginning to sound like robots.

[akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P]

"We're going to knock this one out of the park."

"There is no 'I' in 'team'."

"It is what it is."

There is an "I" in TEAM. You just have to look hard enough...

[akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P]

When your manager is using canned phrases, we all know they're canned phrases and it makes the managers look like they've become Stepford Managers because inevitably they all end up using those same canned phrases...