Take time to reconsider before you send that email/letter
September 3, 2009
I was speaking with someone a few days ago who, in a fit of anger over how she was treated, almost sent off a letter to her boss (with a copy to her boss's boss) that was highly critical of both individuals. You can imagine the potential outcome of this - publically embarrassing one's supervisor and the supervisor's supervisor.
Here are a few guidelines you may want to consider when writing an email or a letter while annoyed:
- When you finish writing, set the letter or email aside for a few hours, then reread it and consider the impact of what you have written;
- Consider rewriting sections that seem to harsh or critical; consider adding more facts and removing any runours or accusations;
- When you have finished reviewing and editing the letter or email, set it aside again for a few hours, then reread it and consider the impact of what you have written;
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you are confident that what you have written explains and supports your point of view without causing the recipient to feel belittled, insulted, accused, or attacked.
Sun Tsu wrote, ". . . to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." In other words, it is not necessary to overwhelm or overcome your supervisor; all that is necessary is to succeed in convincing her of the validity and value of your point-of-view.