Today we have a guest editorial as Steve is out of the office.

Recently, during a project meeting, our Project Manager shushed a team member to stop him proceeding further with his views. The way the Project Manager did that was quite rude, and though it seemed weird to everyone, the meeting continued. Later on, I found that out that the team member did feel agitated about this incident and was reluctant to carry on working under this manager.

During a few other incidents, I felt that the Project Manager’s way of managing people was a bit abrupt and to some extent, not very courteous. Though, he is a bright, smart, experienced and quite socialable, when it comes to managing teams or people, he is quite unpredictable and very blunt.

On the other hand, it may just be us few who are a little more sensitive than others. It may be that the PM is just like any other Project Manager, getting things done in a way that is standard to meet the tight deadlines. Having lived and worked in UK, we may have gotten used to a way of communication, which is usually very courteous and polite.

Whatever the case, that particular team member and a few others did leave the project and the company. It may have been for other reasons as well, but it did make me think if I would have also done the same in a similar situation.

What would be your take on that ? Does the tone of communication matters to you that much that it affects your work in some way?