A letter to my manager....

Dear Manager,

You are a very important person to me. I don’t know if you know that or realize it but you have a significant impact on my life. And what may be surprising to you, an impact not only on my work life - but my personal life too. I don’t have a “home person” and a “work person.” There is my home life and my work life, but it’s me that shows up to both. I know you know, how things go at home impact my work, and just as importantly how things go at work impact my personal life. And you are a key part of that!

I remember first meeting you….I was excited, and you seemed to be too. You sold me on the job and the company. Do you know that one of the reasons I took the job is because I thought it would be great to work for you? You have a lot of knowledge and I realized I could learn from you. I was excited that I would have a manager willing to include me in projects, support my growth, let me learn new things, challenge me, keep me up to date on company information, help my team mates and I work together. These were all things we talked about when I interviewed. That was the job I was taking and the manager I was looking forward to working for. I was really excited!

Here’s the good news – I still think it can be like that! I know we’ve worked together for a number of years now but there’s always a new day and a fresh start. I think we’ve fallen into some bad habits and unproductive routines. But I still want to do a great job! And I need you to help me do that. I also think you will find that you are much happier with some of these changes. I want this to be better for both of us – and my co-workers. Together we can make the workplace I heard about in my interview!

Sincerely,

Your Employee

Note: In working with managers and individual contributors for over 20 years I've heard lots of stories, dreams, frustrations - "A letter to my manager" will be a series of reflections to help manager's consider their employee's perspective.

• What do you say to candidates when they are interviewing?
• How do you describe the job - the company - working for you?
• Are you being the leader you told them about?

The good news - it can still be like that!