I scolded my subordinate manager the other day. Yelled at him, in fact.
It was wrong. I should not scold, much more yell, at a person whether he works for me or not.
When I scolded my manager, I negated the value of pointing out his mistake. The manager ended up not realising his error but instead felt my wrath which made him feel bad. The manager became a victim of my aggression.
I should, therefore, learn to control my temper. I should have calmly pointed out what unacceptable result the manager’s decision led to and then listen to the manager’s side. I then should explain to the manager if his side was not satisfactory and instruct him to correct his mistake.
If the manager’s infraction was a recurrence, I should warn the manager that repeating his error would lead to more severe measures.
But this was not a serious mistake. The manager simply did not follow an agreed plan. It led to me having to spend double the budget for a project. I got angry and yelled at the manager for it. He made a mistake, and I made the mistake of scolding him.
Trouble is I know I’ll do it again. I’m human after all and I do need to let go of anger. I just need to at least control it to not lose the value of correcting whomever didn’t do the job well.
I got angry, I scolded someone, but I don’t regret it. Yet.
Ellery's Essays 