How to Deal With a Manager Who Loves Pointing Out Your Mistakes
When presenting our Leadership and Management training courses, delegates often ask this question:
My work is 99% good, but my manager loves pointing out the1% of mistakes. What should I do?"
There are multiple aspects to this problem:
- How you feel about them picking up on the 1% of errors.
- How you feel about them NOT appreciating the 99% of your good work.
- Whether you want to make this unbalanced criticism "a point of issue" with your manager.
- How you should respond to the corrective criticism.
1. How you feel about them picking up on the 1% errors
It is always annoying to be criticised and you should know that NOBODY likes it.
Ignore your feelings of anger and try to take the situation as a "learning experience".
Ideally you should say to yourself, "This is valid negative feedback; I will use it and will rewrite my plans"
However, the way you feel is determined by how they word their criticism. Their message may be worded destructively or constructively.
Hopefully their criticisms are worded constructively. If not, then you may wish to tackle their destructive way of presenting criticism as a separate issue.
2. How you feel about them NOT appreciating the 99% of your good work.
You may feel annoyed, because they fail to appreciate and praise you for the 99% of the things you do well.
This feeling is born out of a sense of injustice.
They should thank you for the 99% of the things you do well. But sadly, many managers fail to appreciate the good work of others.
They take good work as "a given", something to be expected, and therefore something that does not need to be recognised.
Not giving appreciation, praise and thanks to fellow workers, leads to demotivation.
3. Whether you want to make this unbalanced criticism "a point of issue" with your manager.
You may make "failure to appreciate your good work" the subject of a separate conversation, but I would recommend that you just feel sorry for them,
Or you could encourage them to go on our management training.
4. How should you respond to the corrective criticism?
You should take all criticism in the proper way and in good spirits.
Analyse the critical feedback, and if necessary, make the necessary adaptive changes to your plans. Return with an improved performance.
Do not let them get you down.
If they are bad managers who are having a demotivational effect on you and others, then ask them to sign-up to our Leadership and Management training, and we will show them how to give constructive criticism!
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Constructive criticism
In business, constructive criticism is a communication technique that lifts work results. It names clear actions, keeps a calm respectful tone, shows the effect, and gives useful steps to improve. If any one part is missing, the talk stops being constructive.
CG4D Definition
Context: Business
Genus: Communication technique
- It seeks to raise future performance rather than blame past errors
- It addresses specific actions and facts, not the person’s worth
- It is expressed in a respectful, balanced and calm manner
- It supplies practical guidance or next steps for improvement
Article Summary
When a boss points out every slip and never the wins, treat each note as useful data, ask for fair praise, keep a record of good work and act on what you learn; this calm plan turns blame into growth and keeps your spirit high.