Don’t Kill the Manager (Messenger)

Often times a single person is assigned as the bringer of bad news, the one who gives us all the work that we don’t want to do. This person may have even been assigned by you to play this role;  it could be a friend, family member, personal assistant or just an office or project manager.

There is a psychological tendency to pair the person bringing your assignments with the negative feelings often felt about the task. Some requests seem very ridiculous or tedious, but this isn’t due to the manager. The key is to separate this feeling from the person who brought it

The easiest method for keeping this tendency from arising include consciously stopping groaning and moaning about tasks verbally while recieving assignment as well as while talking about the assignment to others involved in the project. Pay attention the the atmosphere you create. Not only will keeping positive about the assignment help avoid this psychological by product, but will also make the project more bearable and often increases productivity. Also, by removing your initial negative affect, you create opportunities to find solutions to the task quicker, while exposing yourself to the full details of the project.

Ask questions and be involved with the manager. Project managers spend a lot of time going over  projects an what needs to be done. They have to interpret the details to you and your team. Be conscious about this, and understand that by asking questions and being attentively involved you will be able to extract information about the project that your manager may have missed or deemed unimportant. Ask nicely, and clearly, so the manager can understand.  Develop a relationship with them and pay attention to it. Always remember to be kind. The more frustration you show, the harder it is for them to present information to you, and the more uneasy they will feel the next time around.

The bearer of bad news should always be treated as an equal team member, not an outcast.