A leader who dismisses employee questions with "You just don't understand." is actively eroding trust. As leaders, there are times where we cannot share all the details of a situation for different reasons, including confidentiality, privacy, security, legal and so on. However, the job of a leader is to instill trust in their team. This statement does the exact opposite.
Here's how you fix that ...
If an employee does not understand the circumstances, it is better to say "You would understand if I was at liberty to share all the details." This statement, unlike the first one, treats the employee like the competent, intelligent, person that you hired them to be. It respects them.
Even better? Actually help your employees understand. Most of the issues that employees take "exception" with have to do with "why" something is the way it is, and you are free to explain. THIS is a GIFT to you. Their questions are literally revealing YOUR communication gaps. Don't believe explaining is not a priority. Every time you do, you win the trust of your people and trust creates motivation.
Your people are intelligent. If you can't legally explain then state so. People, as it ends up, actually DO understand.
Feel free to tag someone whose leadership has inspired you in the comments section below!
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