Mixed Messages

Question

Why do managers over-promise and under-deliver?  Why do they speak to the group and not the individual?

R. S. · Answer

Over-promise: to get funding, support, sponsorship
Under-deliver: based on the above, they have to deliver much more than their team's regular capacity

Also, to maximize efficiency, it's better to have too much work to do than not enough to do. It's almost impossible to have the perfect amount of work for your team, as there are too many variables.

A good manager should be able to set realistic expectations for the stakeholders, communicate honestly to the team, and make sure the right people are involved in the planning of deliverables.

Bosslady482053 · Answer

I started my career in sales and then sales management and I was always careful not to over promise as reputation and integrity are non-negotiable to me. Having said that, I did see people do this and they were generally folks who were lightning fast on their feet, all about the networks and relationships and leveraging those connections. I’m more introverted and analytical and the sale had to make sense to me for me to sell it. As far as management talking to the group and not the individual, I believe it’s because the manager has not learned to deliver clear, actionable, effective feedback and is uncomfortable with what they perceive as conflict, when in reality you are coaching (if done effectively).  Also, people receive information differently so how the feedback is delivered should differ by person but many people have not been trained on how to assess each person’s preferences.

Mixed Messages

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