A reader writes: “Dear Ronnie Ann: I hope you can help me with my problem. My boss doesn’t respond to emails. I know she’s always in meetings and gets a lot of email. But when I need to let her know about something I get nothing but crickets.
I’m afraid to bother her when she seems so busy. But I’m tired of not being able to get any answers. It makes me feel invisible. Not sure what to do. Please can you help me? ~ Lara”
My response to Lara
Hi Lara,
First, let me assure you that you’re definitely not invisible. 🙂
But I can relate to having a boss that makes you feel that way. I once worked with a person who was known for never answering anyone’s emails … even though she was the one you had to get approval from for any new projects. It drove us crazy!
As with most things, there can be all kinds of reasons for a person to act in a way that seems odd to us. If your boss doesn’t respond to emails, there actually might be things you can change about the way you write the emails. But there also may be a need for you to go above and beyond normal office communication channels.
No matter what your job title or level, writing easily-understood business emails can come in handy. And, even if that doesn’t seem too important where you are now, writing skills in general can make a big difference when it comes to moving ahead. And that includes your email!
How we take in information on the job affects every aspect of our careers. So that’s why I want to talk about the role of communication filters in the workplace. Success builds on a foundation of information that we use to make key business decisions. It’s not just about what we say and do. There’s a lot more going on than that!