Just realized my biggest career blind spot was a single comment from my boss

Last month my manager told me I was 'too thorough' in my emails. I was offended at first but she said I bury the main point in paragraphs of background. Now I start every email with the action item or answer in bold at the top, then add details below if needed. Response time on my requests went from 2 days to same day. Anyone else had to unlearn a habit that seemed like a strength?

2 comments

2 Comments

kaib182d agoMost Upvoted

3 weeks of bolded action items and my boss asked if I was angry at her. I said no, I'm just following orders. Now she says my emails feel like a hostage negotiation.

thea_chen2d ago

Ngl the 'hostage negotiation' comment made me laugh out loud. Honestly though, your boss asked for this when she made you do the bold action item thing without telling you to also add a normal person sentence first. Tbh now you're both stuck in this weird email standoff where every message reads like a ransom note. Maybe try adding "hope you're having a good day" before the bold part and see if that defuses the tension.