The Best Way to Approach Your Management Team When Expressing a Concern



While getting ready to pour the foundation for your commercial construction project, you notice that something is off. You double check the plans and all of your prep work and determine that there is definitely a concern that needs to be brought to the attention of your management team.

Is it time to panic?

No way!

Bringing bad news to the boss is never fun, but when approached correctly, it can be a great opportunity to build a trusting relationship. Whether you are bringing up a complaint about working conditions or voicing a concern over a certain aspect of your commercial construction project, here are some helpful tips that will help turn a potentially bad experience into a positive conversation.

Timing is everything

There is a time and a place for approaching your boss with a concern; however, blurting out your issue with the electrical wiring while the electrician is in earshot is definitely not one of them. Start off by taking a breath and thinking things through. It is a trivial matter? Is it a safety issue? How is it affecting the project as a whole? If you feel that the issue needs addressing, schedule a private meeting at a convenient time for your supervisor and describe the problem. Remember to be specific, and don’t be afraid to name names, as long as you do so respectfully.

Leave emotion at the door

If you are upset about an issue, the best way to get through to your management team is to stick to the facts and lose the emotion. Storming into the office will not do you any good, and will probably cause your boss to focus more on your inappropriate behavior than the issue at hand. Focus on explaining the problem in a calm, professional manner and provide solid reasons for why the problem needs to be addressed.

Have a solution at the ready

When approaching your boss with a problem, always have a proposed solution – or multiple solutions – in mind. Not only will this prevent you from looking like a complainer in front of your management team, but it will also give them something to work with. They will appreciate that you have thought things through and may even be impressed by your ideas and initiative.

Request rather than demand

Working on a commercial construction project requires a lot of teamwork and collaboration, so if you encounter a problem with a coworker or an issue about the project itself, you should always frame your concerns as a request or an inquiry and not a demand. Allow your boss to make the ultimate decision on what needs to be done, and then respect that decision. Even if you don’t get the outcome you wanted, at least your concern has been noted.

If you are anxious about approaching your boss with a problem, then talk to the professional consultants at George Rullo and Associates . We have been providing excellent advice and quality construction consulting for over 20 years!

For more ideas on how to approach your boss with a concern, call 732-810-1049 today!

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