Never Over promise & Under deliver

Shawnee Love   •  
August 7, 2015

Week 2 of our series on management mistakes and we are talking about over promising and under delivering.  We all know better and yet it still happens.  And the damage to your relationship with your staff is immediate and usually wide-reaching.

One of the fundamental requirements for establishing and maintaining your employee’s trust is to follow through on your commitments.  Trust between you and your employees is the grease in your relationship.  It means you will find it easier to get buy in, you will enjoy camaraderie and support, and in general your team will be productive and engaged.

That is why, when asked how to be a good manager, my best advice is:

Under Promise and Over Deliver

Do anything else and you will undermine your entire relationship with your staff.  No matter how nice you are or how collaborative or how flexible, you won’t have your staff’s trust and respect if you don’t do what you say you will do.

You may know this advice as

Walk your talk or

Do what you say you will

Either way, you can recover from a lot of mistakes if you follow this rule.  Not only will your team be happier, but so will your boss because trusted managers get better results!