TEAM.... hate it when my boss addresses us as that

[Scott Douglas]

Originally Posted by kang

What I really hate is when they call people "resources."

Worse yet is being called a 'surplus' resource.

[Rick Lee]

My boss is always the last one to arrive and he greets us all with a "Good morning, troops." Our dept. is divided into several teams and they very much are real teams. I've never worked with a tighter-knit bunch. I hate everyone, but I really love my team.

[aap1966]

As my brother says:
"There's no 'I' in TEAM, but there's five 'I's in 'individual brilliance' , so get the hell out of my way and let me do my job."

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by Neilk

Do you like it or hate it when your boss addresses your group as TEAM?

We have a new interim director who took over for the previous boss that left the company. He tends to micro-manage as he learns the ins and outs of what we do since he came from a different department. What really gets on my nerves is that he read in some business book to address us collectively as TEAM...

It sounds great on paper, but it really grates me when some middling middle manager thinks that using the terminology of great executives/leaders will make him one too. Now I guess on the flip side, how should he address us, well not sure, but TEAM sounds terrible coming from him.

rant over.

You don't like this guy so no matter what he calls you, you won't like it.

I have a "staff" I would not refer to them as such to their faces. I hate being referred to a supervisor, or boss. I prefer manager. In emails, I use "everyone...". It's a pain in the ass frankly....

But again, you don't like or respect the guy so you let it bother you.

My boss (see I used it) spots me in the hallway and will call me by my last name or some jokey thing on my first name "Steve-o", etc. He's kinda quirky awkward, but I like him as a person so I don't let it bother me.

[look 171]

When my workmen aren't there, I address them as workmen to the owners or clients. When they are around, I address them as the Guys.

Would workmen work better for you?

[A930Rocket]

My manager calls us "fellas" and team. Drive us nuts.

[gacook]

I call my group of employees a team. It's a group of people working toward a common goal(s). If they all pull their weight, we succeed. If one or two don't, we have a very real chance of failure. How is this not a team?

[diverdan]

We are a team at my work place and they are a great group of people. We go out of our way to help each other even after work hours are over. There is definitely team spirit. I agree with guy.

Diverdan

[widgeon13]

There is no "team" in "retirement"!

[asphaltgambler]

Originally Posted by Eric 951

Show up at the next meeting in a jersey and address him as "coach"

ON now THATS really funny!!

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by gacook

I call my group of employees a team. It's a group of people working toward a common goal(s). If they all pull their weight, we succeed.
If one or two don't, we have a very real chance of failure. How is this not a team?

The problem comes when bad managers don't recognize that one or two aren't pulling their weight and still call the group a "team." In that circumstance the rest of the group is justified in feeling cynical about the term.

[GH85Carrera]

[cashflyer]

I stopped calling our field maintenance group "team" and started calling them a "semi-autonomous collective of aviation engineers with results driven initiatives for the purpose of effective customer goal realization".

I was told to just go back to calling them "team".

You can't please some people.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by cashflyer

I stopped calling our field maintenance group "team" and started calling them a "semi-autonomous collective of aviation engineers with results driven initiatives for the purpose of effective customer goal realization".

I was told to just go back to calling them "team".

You can't please some people.

You could use the acronym SCCOAEWRDIFTPOECGR and claim it is Klingon!

[Brando]

I was taught to praise the group as "team", but otherwise refer to them as "everyone", "all", or "ladies and gentlemen". Although if you don't like a person or their management style it doesn't matter how they address you or your coworkers, you're just not going to like it until you're over it.

[widgeon13]

I worked for the same company for 30 years, started as trainee and retired as VP sales. Worked for seven different presidents and who knows how many different consultants. None of it worked. You can inject all the vocabulary you want but if you don't have it, you aren't going to succeed.

Smart people don't like having smoke blown up their ass!

[DaveE]

I hate being "out of pocket" worse, it implying that at some point I'm in someone's pocket.

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

You could use the acronym SCCOAEWRDIFTPOECGR and claim it is Klingon!

Or SaCC O for short.

I always hated it when we were referred to as ''You witless bunch of dicks.'' Team sounds much better to me. Of course I once told an assistant engineer that he was the boss, ''and I will do anything you ask me to do, no matter how stupid I think it is.''.

That went over really well, and I didn't have to be called anything for a few weeks...

Of course, I was also the guy who went around after department meetings and told all the group leaders to stop worrying about what they were being asked to do, and just keep concentrating on results, as that is really what everyone wants, even if they don't know how to get it.

Remember, ''Team'' meetings are generally just to show who is the boss. If you are lucky, maybe one or two minutes of a meeting will actually address what you are doing. In my life, I have gotten in far more trouble doing what I was told than I ever got into by doing what really needed to be done. If things are getting done, everybody looks good. Figure out What They Want, Don't concentrate on How They Want You to Do It.

After all the gobbledegook, I usually recap by asking, ''So you want us to do this, this and this.'', stating the goals as I see them. Then they will say, Yes, or, ''No, I want you to do this and this."

After clarifying, that is what I will do, assuming that is really what needs to be done...

[june82000]

I hate all corporate cliches. Here are a few that really make my skin crawl.

"Think Outside the Box" (Taco Bell even went so far as "Think Outside the Bun")
"Low-hanging fruit"
"Mission-critical"
"Bring to the table"
"Value-added"
"It's a win-win"
"Drink the Kool-Aid"
"Run it up the flagpole"
"Bring our 'A' game"

And the one I hate the most -

"Let's throw everything against the wall to see what sticks"

Oh, by the way - don't forget - today is "Hawaiian Shirt Day"

[joe payne]

Teim, Now there's an I in it!