{"id":3953,"date":"2025-04-23T18:43:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T18:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aomtodayprod.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=3953"},"modified":"2025-07-09T15:37:42","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T15:37:42","slug":"managers-need-scripts-to-say-and-do-the-right-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/managers-need-scripts-to-say-and-do-the-right-things\/","title":{"rendered":"Managers Need Scripts to Say and Do the Right Things"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Daniel Butcher<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Inexperienced managers\u2014especially those who didn\u2019t get sufficient training before getting promoted\u2014sometimes struggle to know the right thing to say and do when they encounter common events such as underperforming employees, personal conflicts, and team members who tell them that they\u2019re leaving for another opportunity.<\/p>\r\n

Academy of Management Scholar Carol Kulik<\/a> of the University of South Australia said that it\u2019s possible to develop scripts to guide managers to respond properly to a range of situations that they\u2019ll have to deal with.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThe script doesn\u2019t have to be fully developed, but it can at least be an entry point to a challenging conversation so that new managers get started off on the right foot,\u201d Kulik said.<\/p>\r\n

For example, when giving performance reviews, Kulik said that one of the worst approaches that managers can take is giving employees a laundry list of six or more things that they need to improve.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t work on six goals at the same time, so identify the one or two things that you really want the employee to work on and get the employee to tell you an action plan for improving those skills,\u201d Kulik said. \u201cYou, as the manager, might know exactly what it takes to improve those skills, but you\u2019re always going to get a lot more buy-in if the employee generates it themselves.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a very trainable skill that we can give a line manager,\u201d she said. \u201cSometimes the best thing you can do is to say nothing and encourage the employee to give you a solution that they\u2019re prepared to act on.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Another tricky situation is when an employee gives their manager notice that they\u2019ve found another job.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWe tell managers, you can always authentically say to any employee, \u2018Thank you for the time that you\u2019ve given this company,\u2019\u201d Kulik said. \u201cNow, sometimes managers will say, \u2018This employee came and said they were leaving, and I was actually glad to see them go\u2019\u2014sure, but you can still say, \u2018Thank you for the time that you\u2019ve given this company.\u2019<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something that you can practice before anyone leaves your team,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s something you can use in any circumstance, for all levels of performance.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Simply being polite and expressing gratitude for employees\u2019 efforts are underrated management tactics.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cLine managers don\u2019t say \u2018thank you\u2019 often enough,\u201d Kulik said. \u201cWhen we talk to employees, they tell us that gratitude is one of the biggest motivators that they ever experienced at work.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cBut very few employees say that they experience gratitude on a regular basis,\u201d she said. \u201cPractice saying, \u2018Thank you\u2019\u2014that\u2019s a really nice script to have in your back pocket.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n

A sample of Kulik\u2019s AOM research findings:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n