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Inconsiderate Actions Communication Cell Phones

My boss is not the most accessible person in the world, and he has canceled many appointments with me. I got the bright idea to ask him to lunch, and he accepted. When we got to the restaurant, his cell phone rang and he took the call and several others after it. We probably had about five minutes of conversation the whole time. How do you deal with a boss like this?



It's not particularly appetizing to take your boss to lunch so that he can catch up on communications with anyone but you. Looking at this behavior in combination with his prior cancellations of numerous appointments with you, it is apparent that he is sending several messages to you.

One inadvertent message is that he does not understand the importance of maintaining open communications with his employees. This can have a couple of different implications. On the one hand, he may believe that you are performing so well that you do not need much of his time. If this is the case, he is engaging in mismanagement because performance, motivation, and morale all tend to increase when employees have a good deal of two-way communication with their managers.

The second possibility is that he is not communicating with you because he is dissatisfied with your performance and does not want to take any further time with you. If this is the case, once again he is mismanaging. If an employee is struggling, it is particularly important to open the lines of communication with him or her, set a path of correction, and then communicate and coach along the way.

The fact is that you still need to have your meeting with your boss. One way to do so is to try the "drop-in" where you simply show up at his office during the day. If he cannot meet with you on the spot, try to nail down a time to meet later. Come back at that time, and although he may again defer the meeting, you may well get your meeting by the end of the day.

Another option is to invite him to lunch again. But this time, try to select a restaurant that does not allow the guests to use cell phones. If you cannot find one, simply pick a restaurant that you like, and if your manager takes a call on his cell phone, wait for him to hang up. As soon as he does, then take out your cell phone and call him. Maybe then he'll get your message. Bon appetit!





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