How to Criticize Your Boss Without Losing Your Job

How to Criticize Your Boss Without Losing Your Job Feedback, as any good professional understands, is critically important. There’s nothing like a little constructive criticism to put the fire under your tail feathers and help you to understand and grow past your own limitations. But it isn’t just a one-way street. From time to time, it will be important- even necessary- to give your boss a little feedback too. You should want the kind of employee/boss relationship where that is possible- and work to cultivate it. Here are a few strategies for when you need to offer a little good-natured criticism to your boss without offending him or her or risking your good rapport.1. Pick your moment.If your boss is in the middle of a particularly stressful project or a bad week, you might want to wait until she’s not stomping around fuming with the shortest possible fuse. Let things die down a bit and pick a more peaceful, low-key moment to broach the subject. But do make sure to do it face-to-face. Meeting in person is a muc h better way to make the kind of connection you need for this to work.2. Ask permission.Particularly if you have a more formal relationship with your boss, or you’re nervous about how to broach the subject, it’s always a good idea to ask first. A simple, â€Å"Would you be willing to hear a different perspective on the situation?† or â€Å"Could I offer my two cents?† will work wonders and set the conversation up nicely.3. Keep it light.In this and all office interactions, stay positive. If humor is in your wheelhouse, try a humorous tone if appropriate. Avoid profanity and offensive jokes though; keep it professional. Be playful and as gracious and appreciative as possible. And try to limit your use of the word â€Å"but.† As in: â€Å"I really enjoy working with you but†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 4. Back it up.Don’t just assume your ideas are great and worth sharing- better than your boss’s. Support your ideas with facts about production or prod uctivity. And then make sure that your feedback will genuinely help the person. The more you can make it valuable to your boss, the better.5. Make it about you.â€Å"You† statements tend to make people extra defensive. Try to frame everything through your point of view. â€Å"I notice this†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It affected me when†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And try not to generalize with words like â€Å"always† or â€Å"never.† Think about how an improved relationship would make you a better worker, and explain this, point-by-point, to your boss. If you frame it as â€Å"for the good of the company,† you’re more likely to get a positive response.6. Go in with a game plan.Think through what you’re going to say in advance. The more you plan it out, the better. And find a friend or family member to rehearse it with beforehand. The cooler and more prepared you are going in, the better it will go. If you storm in right on the heels of an annoying email inter action, you’re bound to say something you will later regret.7. Know when to stop.Say what you have to say as quickly, gracefully, and succinctly as you can- then stop. It can be hard, once you get started, to turn the faucet off- particularly if this is the first time you’ve tried giving feedback to your boss. But you’ll need to make sure to quit while you’re ahead and give room for your boss to respond. And try to listen with an open mind! The communication lines, at last, are open.

Make Mind Maps that Stick with Labels

Make Mind Maps that Stick with Labels Adhesive address or shipping labels come in a variety of shapes and sizes, which makes them ideal for a variety of activities in the classroom.   One way to use labels to encourage critical thinking in the classroom is to have students use labels printed with ideas or topics from a unit of study in order to create mind-maps or diagrams that visually organize information on a topic. The mind-map is an interdisciplinary strategy where a student or group of students build(s) off a single concept or idea: a drama, an element in chemistry, a biography, a vocabulary word, a event in history, a commercial product. The concept or idea is placed in the center of a blank sheet of paper and   representations of other ideas are connected to that central concept are added, branching out in all directions on the page. Teachers can use mind-maps as a review exercise, a formative assessment, or interim assessment tool, by providing students individually or in groups with printed labels and asking students to organize the information in a way that shows relationships. Along with the topics or ideas provided on the labels, teachers can provide a few blanks and ask students to come up their own labels associated with the central idea to add to the mind map. Teachers can vary the exercise according to the the size of the paper that allow a few students (poster size) or a large group of students (wall size) to work collaboratively on the mind-map. In preparing the labels, teachers select words, phrases or symbols from a unit of study that are critical to developing student understanding.    Some interdisciplinary examples: Concepts or ideas on labels for Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet (English Language Arts): Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio, Paris, Nurse, Friar Lawrence, a letter, a ring, Apothecary, Rosaline, â€Å"my only love sprung from my only hate†, â€Å"Two households, both alike in dignity.†Concepts or ideas on labels for a biography on Robert E. Lee (Social Studies): Washington College, West Point Military Academy,Mary Custis, Mexican War, Confederacy, President Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, Traveller, Harper’s Ferry, Appomattox, the Army of Northern Virginia, Battle of Gettysburg.Concepts or ideas on labels for labels for iron (Chemistry): metal, atomic number, Earths outer and inner core, oxidation states, transitional metal, boiling point, melting point, isotopes, chemical compound(s), industry. Labels can be created in word processing software such as Word, Pages, and Google Docs and printed on products from manufacturers such as Avery or office supply stores. There are hundreds of templates for different sized labels ranging from full sheets 8.5† X 11†, large shipping labels 4.25 x 2.75, medium size labels 2.83 x 2.2, and small address labels 1.5 x 1. For those teachers who cannot afford the labels, there are templates that allow them to create their own without adhesive by using label templates made available by World Label, Co. Another alternative is to use the table feature in a word processing program. Why use labels? Why not have the students simply copy the ideas or concepts from a list onto the blank page? In this strategy providing pre-printed labels assures that all students will have the labels as common elements on each mind-map. There is value in having students compare and contrast the completed mind maps. A gallery walk that allows students to share the final product clearly illustrates the choices each student or groups of students made in organizing their identical labels. For teachers and students alike, this label strategy in creating mind-maps  visually demonstrates the multiple different points of view and learning styles in any class.