Communication between the boss and visitors. Seven rules for communicating with subordinates

• Why is emotional intelligence important in a manager’s communication with subordinates?
• How should a leader behave with subordinates?
• When is an informal tone acceptable in communication between a manager and subordinates?

Compliance with the rules of etiquette in communication between manager and subordinates creates loyalty towards the CEO and the company as a whole. When the CEO is respected and not feared, his instructions are heard - the benefits of such communication are obvious to both parties.

The general director and the subordinate are, to a certain extent, clients in relation to each other (the manager in this case is positioned as a VIP client). Ethics in business relations is important when a manager communicates with subordinates at any level - from a top manager to a courier. If you give instructions to the courier in an incorrect manner, he may not deliver the document on time, thereby jeopardizing the success of the organization.

Many companies have now adopted codes of ethics that contain rules for business relations and corporate etiquette. Such codes exist, for example, in the companies Ingosstrakh, Rostelecom, etc.

In practice, in some cases there is a contradiction between corporate standards and traditional rules of etiquette. For example, within our office walls a style has been adopted that is categorically contrary to formal American business etiquette: a gallant attitude and compliments to ladies.

A manager can develop a personal code of ethics for business relations in relation to subordinates. The main thing is to remember that the rules of business relations are based on common sense, ethnic and religious consciousness, national traditions and ethics of business relations, as well as emotional intelligence. You can learn more about the intricacies of communication between a manager and his subordinates at.

Why is emotional intelligence important in a manager’s communication with subordinates?

Today, great importance is attached to the emotional intelligence inherent in leaders. The concept of “emotional intelligence” was introduced by D. Goleman.

Experts define emotional intelligence as the ability of leaders to manage themselves and relationships with other people, as well as direct the emotions of others in the right direction. A person with emotional intelligence:

• endowed with good self-awareness;
• gives oneself an accurate self-assessment;
• self-assured;
• knows how to control his emotions;
• open, adaptive, responsive;
• able to manage relationships and resolve conflicts.

The psychological climate in the team depends on the emotional leader. Such a leader perceives the thoughts and aspirations of the group better and more accurately than others.

9 mistakes managers make when communicating with subordinates

Directors regularly sacrifice subordination in relations with staff for the sake of dubious achievements. The editors of the magazine "General Director" have identified nine mistakes in the actions of managers that violate the invisible boundaries between them and their subordinates.

How should a manager behave with subordinates?: CEO says

Alexey Sukhenko, General Director of the Russian representative office of Trout & Partners, Moscow

Communication between a manager and his subordinates is similar to the relationship between two clients. The subordinate depends on the leader - there is no need to discuss this. Does the General Director depend on the employee? I usually give a positive answer. And sometimes a lot can depend on the cleaning lady Marya Ivanovna. And she sometimes acts as a client in relation to the director. Therefore, communication in this format today is called client-oriented, and relationships are called partnerships.

My rules of business relations with subordinates are never to dictate or order. I always ask for something using the word “please”, and after doing it I always thank you. I try not to criticize in a way that is offensive to employees. As for the distinction between “office and outside the office” communication, the only difference is that in the office my employees and I talk about business, but not at a holiday.

I agree with the popularizers of the concept of emotional intelligence: today the business world is ruled by tolerance, the desire to understand another person, and this is expressed in correct, adequate speech forms. This approach is more effective than an authoritarian approach and produces better business results.

Corporate Communication: Business Ethics

Unfortunately, in some companies there is still the idea that the director is the center of the universe. This leaves an imprint on his behavior and affects the observance of etiquette. The most common mistake is the so-called lordship and familiarity. However, this is an unacceptable tone in any situation, even at a corporate event. The basic rules of managerial etiquette towards subordinates are as follows:

In crisis or emergency situations, business etiquette “does not work.” In such cases, there is an informal leader (if there is no formal leader) who coordinates the work. Moreover, it is in such situations that it becomes clear who truly knows the norms of human communication, and who learned them only yesterday.

Corporate Communication: whether to require excess workload

Demanding has never been considered ethical. Self-respecting leaders ask employees to complete tasks. It all depends on the form in which the request is presented, the situation and the frequency of requests. If we talk about Russian reality, we have to admit that now in most companies people overwork. Irregular working hours ultimately affect the performance, motivation and turnover of staff, contributing to the so-called professional burnout.

In my practice, there was a case when a manager literally “zombified” a subordinate with constant manipulations: he was invariably polite, wrote out bonuses and gave good gifts, encouraged the employee in every possible way, but his workload was simply unbearable. There is observance of the rules of business communication and non-compliance with ethics.

The manager's office is visited for a variety of reasons. Some want to know something, others need advice, and others want to talk about something. But it often happens h so that visitors come just to “look”, distracting the office owner from the work. It is these uninvited guests who are the most significant “eaters” of working time, who are usually accepted immediately for fear of missing out on something if they are not listened to.

To isolate yourself from such visitors, you need to manage their flow. A very effective method of such management was proposed by the German professor Lothar I. Seiwert. The essence of this technique is set out in his book “Your time is in your hands” 33, some of the provisions of which are given below.

This scientist considers it an unaffordable luxury when any person on any day of the week and even at any time of the day can claim to communicate with the manager in person or by telephone. He suggests fencing off visitors with the following 12-point program.

1. Instruct your secretary to coordinate and comply with the deadlines and dates for receiving visitors.

2. Use the secretary's desk as a kind of barrier that no one gets past without her asking, “What can I do for you?”, “Can he call you?” etc.

3. Introduce a “quiet hour”, for example, at the beginning of the working day, when no one should disturb you.

4. Set general office hours and instruct the secretary to ask for reasons for attendance so you can prepare.

5. Enter specific office hours for individual employees (for example, “Mayer - from 14 to 15 hours”).

6. Visit the actual premises where your subordinates sit and make yourself available to them for questions. It is much easier to say goodbye and leave the room yourself than to use tricks to shoo your interlocutor out of your office.

7. Receive the visitor standing (for example, in the reception area) and during the greeting determine the priority or need for the visit. When your interlocutor is already sitting in your office, you are at a disadvantage psychologically.

8. Try to come to work early if possible, instead of staying late in the evening.

9. Lock yourself in some room for a while, for example, in the room of an absent colleague; however, only your secretary should be informed of your location.

10. Take care of your personal contacts somewhere other than at work. Make arrangements, for example, to have lunch with people important to you, etc.

11. Place your desk so that it is not visible through the open door; This way you can avoid potential visitors.

12. And most importantly: end the “open door” myth! Leave the door to your office open only when you are ready to talk; close the door if you don't want to be disturbed!

Visits from visitors must be planned and preparations made for their reception. Ask yourself, with the specific visitor you want to host or invite in mind, what purpose your conversation should serve. Prepare, at least quickly, for a conversation on its merits (the background of the problem, previous discussions on this topic, decisions and steps taken), keep the necessary documents ready.

Tune in to your interlocutor's possible arguments and objections.

When receiving visitors, try first of all to find out the purpose of their visit and immediately establish its duration: the conversation, as a rule, lasts as long as you have it at your disposal.

When starting a conversation with a visitor, you need to strive to understand the essence of the request (offer, desire). To do this, it is advisable to use the recommendations of the already mentioned famous domestic psychologist N.M. Vlasova, who offers the following 34.

1. Listen carefully. To do this, use posture, eye contact, facial expressions, distance, location diagonally or nearby, but not strictly opposite. Be sure to support the speaker emotionally (“Yes, yes,” “I’m listening to you,” “Continue”). Ask, clarify, paraphrase the meaning of what was said (“Do you mean...”, “Do you mean by this that...”, “If I understood you correctly, then...”).

2. Try to understand the problem and obtain information that reflects it in many aspects.

3. Clarify the factors influencing the choice of solution (“Who could solve this?”, “What is the solution?”), and develop a solution option. It is better to do this together with the visitor, otherwise he may reject any of your best options, since everything that was “not invented by me” seems to us to be flawed. Be sure to invite him to express his thoughts on how he sees the solution to his issue.

4. In every possible way, strive to relieve aggression or mental tension. Remember that aggression is a release of negative emotions that have accumulated in the visitor. So, try to neutralize his negative emotions and replace them with positive ones. To do this, it is necessary to show respect, recognition, goodwill, and a sense of social justice.

There is no need to reassure an agitated visitor (“Don’t worry, calm down”). This can only increase tension. But a hidden compliment, a demonstration of genuine attention and sincere respect, asking for advice, making a request, emphasizing any of his advantages (for example, concern, activity, etc.) will help calm and relieve tension.

In this case, this technique works well: “Tell me what you would do in my place.” Or, together with the visitor, analyze the consequences of the proposed decisions, invite him to present the request from a different position.

5. Try to leave a good impression of yourself. Whether we like it or not, in the process of communication we show, even unconsciously, ourselves, our attitude towards the visitor and the subject of conversation. He, in turn, evaluates you from the standpoint of his values ​​and forms his attitude towards you.

Consequently, the first and main condition for increasing your own authority in the eyes of the visitor is a respectful attitude towards him. But under one indispensable condition: respect must be sincere. The visitor always feels the falseness.

In some cases, a conflict arises with the visitor. Its reason may be: 1) uncertainty or concealment of any important information; 2) humiliation of the personal dignity of the visitor, neglect of his interests, arrogance, manifestation of power or threat; 3) rude behavior or reaction to the rudeness of a visitor; 4) discrepancy with the expected expectations of the visitor, ambiguity in the interpretation of responsibilities and opportunities; 5) negligence, inattention; 6) a long wait for an appointment or a long “walk through agony.” Try to avoid all this if possible.

When meeting with visitors, there is often a need to convince them of something. The following guidelines may be helpful here.

1. From the very beginning, create an attitude of consent in the visitor. After listening to him, find and emphasize, first of all, what is common in your points of view with him, what unites you. Use questions to which the visitor will answer “yes.”

2. It’s stupid to prove a visitor wrong. It is better to follow the course of reasoning with him, find inaccuracy, illogicality or fallacy in them and build your own arguments into his reasoning.

3. If the visitor stubbornly resists, you should find out what makes him disagree with you, and also try to look at the problem through his eyes. Invite the visitor himself to express his thoughts on its decision, and then unobtrusively and delicately make your own adjustments.

It is much easier to receive your employees, primarily because the reasons for their visits are most often known in advance.

Having learned from the employee about the purpose of his visit, depending on the answers received:

Instruct your deputy to conduct a conversation with him;

If the issue can be resolved with a little time, continue the conversation;

Otherwise, agree on a time for a new meeting and release the employee.

The best thing is to accustom your colleagues to firmly established office hours. It is also useful to keep a separate sheet in your diary for each employee.

Also hold regular briefing meetings to clarify current operational and management issues.

Have lunch with your co-workers every now and then to satisfy the need for personal contact.

Encourage your employees to use the phone or write short notes when face-to-face communication is not required.

If a conversation with a visitor drags on beyond measure, try using the following more or less polite techniques.

1. During a discussion, speak a little more energetically and hastily.

2. Make a summary or final remark.

3. End the business part of the conversation by moving on to idle chatter.

4. Show that you are bored.

5. Look at your wristwatch or make a programmed alarm sound.

7. Agree with your secretary to interrupt the conversation and remind you about the next visitor.

8. Stand up.

9. Show the visitor to the door.

10. Inform the visitor before the conversation and before it ends that you have other things to do and your time is limited.

Receiving visitors often takes much more time than any other activity. Reception of visitors begins with their meeting by the owner of the office. Depending on the nature of the reception and the rank of the visitor, the manager can choose several options for his behavior. The owner of the office can receive a visitor while sitting at his desk. He returns the greeting and invites you to sit in front of his desk. This technique is used mainly in formal communication. Here, the reception time, the nature of communication and its results are determined by the office owner himself. When a visitor appears in the office, the owner of the office responds to his greeting, leaves the table and invites him to the collegiate work area, and sits down opposite him. This is a semi-formal form of communication. It is characterized by equality of rights to the exchange of information. The meeting time is determined by mutual agreement of the parties. The next option looks like this: a visitor enters, the owner of the office is in its center, exchanges greetings with him and invites him to sit in a chair at the coffee table. There is a friendly form of communication: complete openness, friendliness, willingness to listen.

The manager's office is visited for a variety of reasons. Some want to know something, others need advice, others want to talk about something. But it often happens that visitors come just to “look in,” distracting the office owner from his work.

• 1. Instruct your secretary to coordinate and comply with the deadlines and dates for receiving visitors.
• 2. Use the secretary's desk as a kind of barrier that no one gets past without her asking, “What can I do for you?”, “Can he call you?” etc.
• 3. Introduce a “quiet hour”, for example, at the beginning of the working day, when no one should disturb you.
• 4. Set general office hours and instruct the secretary to ask for reasons for attendance so you can prepare.
• 5. Enter specific office hours for individual employees (for example, “Mayer - from 14 to 15 hours”).
• 6. Visit the actual premises where your subordinates sit and make yourself available to them for questions. It is much easier to say goodbye and leave the room yourself than to use tricks to shoo your interlocutor out of your office.
• 7. Receive the visitor standing (for example, in the reception area) and during the greeting determine the priority or need for the visit. When your interlocutor is already sitting in your office, you are at a disadvantage psychologically.
• 8. Try to come to work early if possible, instead of staying late in the evening.
• 9. Lock yourself in some room for a while, for example, in the room of an absent colleague; however, only your secretary should be informed of your location.
• 10. Take care of your personal contacts somewhere other than at work. Make arrangements, for example, to have lunch with people important to you, etc.
• 11. Place your desk so that it is not visible through the open door; This way you can avoid potential visitors.
• 12. And most importantly: end the “open door” myth! Leave the door to your office open only when you are ready to talk; close the door if you don't want to be disturbed!

Visits from visitors must be planned and preparations made for their reception. Ask yourself, with the specific visitor you want to host or invite in mind, what purpose your conversation should serve. Tune in to your interlocutor's possible arguments and objections.

When receiving visitors, try first of all to find out the purpose of their visit and immediately establish its duration: the conversation, as a rule, lasts as long as you have it at your disposal. When starting a conversation with a visitor, you need to strive to understand the essence of the request (offer, desire).

When meeting with visitors, there is often a need to convince them of something. The following guidelines may be helpful here.

• 1. From the very beginning, create an attitude of consent in the visitor. After listening to him, find and emphasize, first of all, what is common in your points of view with him, what unites you. Use questions to which the visitor will answer “yes.”
• 2. It’s stupid to prove a visitor wrong. It is better to follow the course of reasoning with him, find inaccuracy, illogicality or fallacy in them and build your own arguments into his reasoning.
• 3. If the visitor stubbornly resists, you should find out what makes him disagree with you, and also try to look at the problem through his eyes. Invite the visitor himself to express his thoughts on its decision, and then unobtrusively and delicately make your own adjustments.

It is much easier to receive your employees, primarily because the reasons for their visits are most often known in advance. Having learned from the employee about the purpose of his visit, depending on the answers received, you: assign your deputy to conduct a conversation with him; if the issue can be resolved with a little time, continue the conversation; otherwise, agree on a time for a new meeting and release the employee.

Colleagues should be accustomed to firmly established office hours. Also hold regular briefing meetings to clarify current operational and management issues.

There are certain norms, the observance of which will help to better build relationships in the team. This is especially true for relationships with management.

Acceptable forms of addressing superiors

Depending on the degree of subordination, there are different standards of communication with management. If you can communicate with your boss face to face by name, in the presence of other employees, do not forget to address your boss by his first name and patronymic in a respectful manner. Whatever your relationship may be in an informal atmosphere, formalized norms remain at work that require mandatory compliance.
You can only address your boss on a first-name basis if he personally asked you to call him by name. Typically, this rule does not apply to newcomers and newcomers to the company. However, during business negotiations it is strictly forbidden to show your informal relationship with the manager; the format of such meetings is always strict and official, even if the relationship is actually friendly and confidential. This should remain a purely personal factor.
The use of pseudonyms and affectionate diminutive words is not allowed in the office. Each employee, including the boss, has his own name and patronymic. Equivalents will be perceived as an act of disrespect.
Modern companies use the practice of addressing colleagues and management by name, but using “You.” Familiarity has never been welcomed in business circles.

What should you ask your manager when applying for a job?

Don't forget to develop your intellect and control your emotionality. The main quality of a good employee is diligence and responsibility. Try to reduce the level of initiative shown and focus on discipline and the results of the tasks you complete. No matter how brilliant your ideas are, an employee with an excellent reputation and high performance will be listened to. Complete tasks on time and even ahead of schedule, this will be an undeniable advantage in comparison with your colleagues. Even if you don’t have time, you shouldn’t panic and despair ahead of time. Calm down, formulate the reasons for failures and solve them effectively. If the situation requires it, contact your superiors with a request to give you additional time and resources to overcome problems. If you have questions while performing your work, do not be afraid to approach and ask your superiors for the necessary clarifying information. In this way, you will show that you want to better understand the essence of the issue and are ready for an open two-way dialogue for the most accurate result.

Be optimistic and friendly, communicate seriously with management, but do not frown or show your negative attitude towards the situation.
There is always a certain atmosphere in the team. If it is inappropriate, aggressive and destructive, your task is to abstract yourself from the general background of behavior in the office and focus on your work.
All of the above methods will help not only achieve positive trends in the development of relations with your manager, but will also affect your career growth.

Leader etiquette covers different aspects, but at its core it is the rules of communication and interaction with people: colleagues, subordinates, visitors, partners. Regardless of what a person manages - a department in an office or a large company, the psychological climate and performance of employees depends on his behavior. Compliance with etiquette will help you become a first-class leader, create a favorable work atmosphere in your team, and establish long-term relationships with partners.

Basic principles of leadership behavior

To work effectively, a manager must develop a type of management and interaction with subordinates. He is responsible for the atmosphere in the team and must create space. If intrigues, squabbles and quarrels flourish among employees, the boss first of all needs to think about his behavior and the manner of managing people. The principles of behavior and rules of a leader should include not only the etiquette of business communication, but also moral and ethical standards: respect, care, sympathy, honesty, justice. With good management, there are no bad relationships in the team.

Qualities of an ideal boss:

• politeness;
• mutual respect;
• friendliness;
• competence;
• grammatically correct speech;
• responsibility;
• punctuality;
• performance.

Mutual respect

A competent leader always observes business etiquette and treats his subordinates with respect, without familiarity or familiarity. Every employee, regardless of position and age, is first and foremost a person who deserves to be treated with respect. Feeling worthy of being treated by his boss, the subordinate will experience appreciation and gratitude, which will have a positive impact on his work.

When entering an office or office space, a boss must always be with his subordinates. Employees will view a lack of greeting as a sign of arrogance and disrespect. The leader’s culture of behavior and manners influence the entire team - over time, employees adopt the behavior of their director. Courtesy of the boss is an obligatory component of the business etiquette of the manager.

Maintaining a business atmosphere

A business atmosphere in a team implies not only high performance of employees, but also positive interpersonal connections. Compliance with business etiquette, respect, correctness in communication, calmness and restraint are necessary to create a productive working atmosphere. Compliance with the rules of business etiquette allows you to create a favorable psychological climate in the team. An employee who feels comfortable at work strives to do their job better.

Professionalism

The boss must know how to manage people and the company. He must set an example in everything: observe business etiquette, work conscientiously, be punctual, and always remain honest. It is also necessary to remember that a senior manager is the face of the company. When building business relationships, every nuance is important: behavior, manner of speaking. Respectable appearance, professionalism, competence, self-confidence and strict adherence to business etiquette are the qualities of a successful leader.

Attention to employees

A leader must treat all his subordinates equally. It is unacceptable to single out “favorites” who are allowed more than other employees. Favoritism has a negative impact on the psychological climate - it divides the team and contributes to the development of envy and hostile relationships. The boss should seek an approach to all subordinates, because each of them is an individual, with his own moral and ethical principles, outlook on life, attitude to work and his responsibilities. Be understanding when employees ask for help, listen carefully and be sure to praise them when they deserve it.

The manager is the face of the company and an example for subordinates. The task of a good leader is to create a favorable psychological climate in the team that promotes high performance and increased efficiency.