Manager catch phrases

Nurses General Nursing

Published

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.

Specializes in OR.

I have little to no patience for the phone customer service calls where it takes a while to realize that you are talking to a computer generated "voice." When you can finaaly get a live person, they repeat everything you say right back. "Hi, ms customer service agent, i have a problem, my pants are on fire, today."....So what you are telling me is that your pants are on fire, is that correct? Same goes with those online chat things....I am convinced that they are very rarely real people.

As far as these canned, scripted phrases. I have enough to remember without having to spout silly platitudes. As much as we wonder sometimes, i don't think patients are so dumb that they really think this garbage is sincere.

Awhile back, I had a manager whose favorite buzzword was "due diligence," as in i will have to do my due diligence on this matter before i get back to you on it. Oh? As in you either need some time to conjure up more lies and bull**** or you actually have to do your job, because those two tasks are not interchangeable.

Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Used to have a manager who said "And ya know what" a LOT (or is that alot? :sniff: )

She was giving a speech and my coworkers and I decided to place bets on how many times she would say it. Those lightweights guessed 5-15. I said 75- Price is Right Rules, closest without going over.

She spoke for 37 minutes and we stopped counting at 60.

Specializes in med-surg, IMC, school nursing, NICU.

The principal of my school came from a "business background" where he worked in management for many years before going into education. It shows in nearly every interaction, he speaks like he just came from a leadership seminar.

"We need to close the loop of communication."

"Let's touch base periodically."

"Communication is key."

"Communication is key."

"Communication is key." (clearly a favorite)

I half expect him to sidle over to my office one morning with a drawn out "Heeeeeeey Tomato. Whaaaaaat's haaaaapening?"

"The captivity of negativity"

Specializes in ER, Med-surg.

All the members of our leadership team- basically everyone who has a desk job in our department- ends all their department-wide emails with "I appreciate you all!"

They *have* to have learned it in some seminar. And it sounds hilariously inappropriate at the end of emails that are just completely neutral or worse, negative.

"Please, each remember to complete two chart checks this week. And we need to stop placing unbagged dirty linen in the carts, housekeeping WILL NOT collect it.

I appreciate you all!"

Specializes in Travel, Home Health, Med-Surg.

"I will look into that and get back to you".......suuure you will!!

"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!) :sneaky:

you do know that they are not interchangeable, yes?

Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
The principal of my school came from a "business background" where he worked in management for many years before going into education. It shows in nearly every interaction, he speaks like he just came from a leadership seminar.

"We need to close the loop of communication."

"Let's touch base periodically."

"Communication is key."

"Communication is key."

"Communication is key." (clearly a favorite)

I half expect him to sidle over to my office one morning with a drawn out "Heeeeeeey Tomato. Whaaaaaat's haaaaapening?"

Oh, that's terr-i-fic!

Specializes in med-surg, IMC, school nursing, NICU.
Oh, that's terr-i-fic!

Let me go ahead and get you a copy of that memo.

Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
But all "apologies" aren't sincere. The "I do apologize" one smacks of insincerity.

I get that many aren't sincere. Same as the person who always apologizes and continues to do things. I just have never understood when people say it's a sincere apology. The very act of apologizing is acknowledging a wrong doing or an offence. So if you're not sincere, simply don't apologize.

It's just another one of those things on my list of stuff I will never understand. lol

Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.

Clichés have always been one of my pet peeves, and I make a conscious effort to avoid using them in communication with staff. If I have something to say, I say it in the clearest way possible, and I don't use canned answers. Maybe that isn't thinking outside the box, but there you go. :)

I was also amused about the "professional" and "sincere" apology. If it isn't sincere, I don't want it in the first place, and maybe an unprofessional apology is the better choice sometimes. ;) I have never liked the phrase "quality care" either. I usually hear it used by upper level administrative types (read: non-nurses) who need something catchy to say, when their actions pretty much prohibit it from happening. If there is no quality, it isn't really care in my book.

Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

Working loosely within a corporate structure the last 7 years, I was subjected to numerous irritating phrases. The one that bugged me the most was "on-boarding." We never just recruited or hired or oriented new employees, we "on-boarded" them. It always made me wonder who threw them over-board, necessitating their rescue. On-boarding, of course, came with reams of paperwork and training videos. The paperwork couldn't be avoided. The videos sure could, though.

I don't claim to be an expert regarding the English language, but Mr. Harry Adrian, my high school teacher taught me a bit about proper speech and written communication. I rarely watch the news, because doing so makes me want to scream at the screen, not so much because of the news stories themselves, but because the anchors can't seem to read them without butchering grammar or resorting to catch phrases.

Does anyone else wonder when the phrase "ahead of" became a suitable alternative to "prior to?" Let's interview mothers ahead of their special day! Let's not.

And if I hear one more celebrity "open up" or "speak out" on some inane personal secret, I just might explode! In our report tonight, Nicole Kidman opens up about fixing Tom Cruise breakfast! Gag me!

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