Dealing with manager criticism and micromanagement
Your manager will almost always present the one-on-one meetings to you as a moment when he wants to help you. And in which he will look together with you, how you can become even more successful. In reality, the one-on-one meeting is an additional control mechanism for your manager.
It’s the time for many managers to micro-manage you. But also to check whether you are working effectively and efficiently. Your manager wants to be able to see exactly what you’re doing.
It’s also your manager’s favorite time to criticize and adjust. Even if everything goes perfectly and no adjustment is necessary at all, or if there is actually no reason for criticism at all!
You better prepare for it to happen anyway!
Fake-coaching moment of your micro manager for his ideal picture
After all, most managers have a huge intrinsic need to constantly monitor you. They find it necessary to criticize and adjust, because everything has to fit within the ideal picture that they have in mind.
Many micro managers will try to change you during the one-on-one meetings. Some examples you’ve probably heard:
- Managers prefer to change you into an ideal person and type of employee for them.
- Often managers will mention certain personal characteristics that they want you to learn more.
- For example, remember that you have to be much more social.
- That you should be less selfish.
- That you have to become more of a team player and have more “drinks” with colleagues and adopt a different attitude towards your customers.
- Also that you have to be much more assertive and tougher, while this actually does not fit your character and personality at all!
Don’t fall into this trap of incompetent, insecure managers and always be yourself!
Beat competitors by just staying true to yourself
Therefore, remember that you can always listen to criticism. Learn to get out of it exactly what you can really do something with.
Remember that you should never change your unique personality, because of a manager who feels that you don’t fit into the ideal picture. The ideal picture, as only he has in mind, that his ideal type of salesperson as a person must meet.
This is really the worst thing you can do! Why?
- First, your own unique personality is the only thing that differentiates you from all other internal and external competitors.
- Secondly, it’s just a manager with a certain idea in his head. He is also just a human being who is temporarily in that position.
The next manager certainly has another ideal picture in his head and the manager who comes after that also!
Ignore the manager advice and let customers appreciate you
No one is perfect. The fact is, however, that people buy from other people because of trust in the person you are. Therefore, do not be influenced and certainly not change!
Acting out and pretending to be different from who you really are will always work against you sooner or later. These are big points of annoyance that customers really won’t appreciate!
What do you think? How do you deal with criticism from your boss and how do you treat an incompetent manager? Let us know and share your comment with the community below!
Also check out this article how you can act like a sleazy hyena in the Microsoft Teams or Zoom meeting and outsmart your colleagues and micromanager!
Book source
This is an excerpt from the book “The corporate sales winners guide: Transform your life and become a top sales performer” by Gerrit Jan de Vries. View the ebook and the paperback version on Amazon.