Supervisor Foundations · Lesson 4.6

SEPARATE FACTS FROM EMOTION

Supervisors are human.

They may feel:

But emotion can distort correction.

A supervisor may exaggerate:

“You always do this.”

“Nobody can depend on you.”

“You never listen.”

“You have ruined everything.”

Strong supervisors separate:

from

and

Poor

“I am so angry with you. You embarrassed me in front of the owner.”

Better

“The stock count was submitted with 18 items missing. Let’s review how the count was completed and what needs to be corrected.”

EXAMPLE 1

A supervisor feels personally embarrassed because the owner noticed an employee error.

BETTER RESPONSE

The employee should be corrected for the actual performance issue—not for damaging the supervisor’s ego.

EXAMPLE 2

An employee disagrees during a meeting.

The supervisor feels challenged.

BETTER RESPONSE

Disagreement alone should not automatically be treated as insubordination.

EXAMPLE 3

A customer raises their voice at the supervisor after an employee mistake.

BETTER RESPONSE

The supervisor should not transfer that anger onto the employee.

EXAMPLE 4

A supervisor feels disappointed because a trusted employee made a serious error.

BETTER RESPONSE

The relationship may affect emotion, but the facts and workplace standard should guide the response.

Remember

Feelings are real.

They are not always evidence.

Workplace action

Before an important correction, write down: FACT: What happened? FEELING: How do I feel about it? ACTION: What needs to happen next?

Quick Check

Which statement is primarily a fact rather than an emotional judgment?