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.
I love this! I guess the writers of the script didn't think patients would notice that every single employee ended every single interaction with the required "Is there anything else I can do, because I have the time?"
I just entered the world of management. Let me tell you....I have never been to so many meetings of meetings-meetings. I tell my staff, if you don't tell me what the issues are, I will never know and nothing will change. I also say, I don't know the answer, but I will ask until I find the person that does. Just know it will take me more than just a day or two. I need a catch phrase now!
Why not just offer your sincerest apologies? Would be easy to ignore her and just go on about business. I often wonder if people who say things like that realize how Unprofessional is sounds and is. Met some like that in my practice. They never had an original idea, only read from the script. They were, however real good at taking staff ideas and presenting them as their own. Unfortunately they were ineffective, they only did what upper management told them to do and ignored problems at a lower level. That meant the staff pretty much had to solve their own problems the best they could with out any help or resources. Sort of a worthless position in the scheme of things. Toothless tiger?
Oh, yeah. All the time. I have a suspicion that memorizing scripts is what people are doing for two years in MSN Leadership.
I'm only one year in, but so far no, that's not what we've spent our time doing. My classes aren't bad actually. I've taken the class we had focusing on leadership, and none of the content was remotely like that. Though, there was the one class so far where we barely learned about the topic the class was supposed to be about. We spent most of our time in that class complaining about the instructor's, we'll call them, eccentricities. I came the closest I've ever come to quitting something during that class.
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!
Agreed. However, worse is when people insist on helping you despite you telling them you have a situation under control. Even worse than that is when people insist that they are going to help but only do something half way and I have to re-do what they did.
"Perception is reality," as in, if the patient perceived you as rude, you were rude.
In some ways it's true, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. But if I'm stating a fact they don't like, that doesn't make me rude. For example, hospital policy prohibits smoking, and the only way they will be happy is if I let them light up.
Perception is reality, in a lot of cases means there is no way to complete the job in a satisfactory manner.
Yes. Agreed. Except replace "patient" with "surgeon". They love being told why they have to behave, why site markings are indicated, why they have to pay attention during time out...
Once, my manager used this logic with me about something, I accepted it and used the situation as a chance to grow and reflect. Then, during another discussion, my manager argued that this logic was wrong (this time she would have been wrong and not the staff)...
I had another episode of uncontrollable eye rolling following a local news report this morning. Perhaps it's an unrecognized seizure disorder.
News anchor with concerned look on his face states in serious voice, "They are conducting an investigation into what happened!"
Isn't that what an investigation is? Damn my high school English teacher for making it impossible for me to simply listen to air heads read bad news copy without experiencing a neurological reaction.
TriciaJ, RN
4,328 Posts
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I cannot even begin to get my head around this. Just. Not. Even.