Bryce has a new boss, new to his division.
He told me that when doing second-round introductions, his new boss asked, "do you have kids?"
Bryce replied, "No, my wife and I tried everything for years but it didn't work out, so it's just the two of us."
I asked if the new boss said anything in response.
Bryce said, "Yup -- he said, Well, I have three and one on the way," and moved on to the next person.
What a useless icebreaker. At least PRETEND you give a crap if the answer isn't the same as yours. I asked if Bryce regretted sharing so much. His response?
"I figured if he was going to ask The Question, I was going to give him a complete and truthful answer."
One of many reasons I love him. For the love, "do you have kids?" is a real dumb icebreaker -- find something more interesting, please.
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What an ass! (Not Bryce, Bryce's response was perfect.) What a total ass that guy is. His comment speaks volumes about the type of guy he is, doesn't it? Dumb, insensitive, and not at all quick-thinking. Argh.
ReplyDeleteRight? Like how do you stick to your original script? Ugh.
DeleteMouth fully dropped open. What kind of response is that?
ReplyDeleteI couldn't believe it. No kind of response! What does he do if someone says they lost their mom, say "well I have mine, so yay!" Jeez.
DeleteEw. Noted! Bryce was given a lot of information about his new boss in that moment, and now he can move forward with that information.
ReplyDeleteSimilar exchanges have happened to me before. I'm sorry Bryce experienced it recently. And you, secondhandedly. :(
Right? Unfortunately, that showed where the new boss is on the sensitivity meter (negative). Ugh.
DeleteUgh. Perhaps this leader was not hired for his ability to be present with someone, to go off script, or for his tact and connectability.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the conversation came back into his mind in a more private moment. I wonder if he himself replayed it and wished he could have a do-over. That would be something.
I sincerely hope so, but unfortunately I doubt it. I think sometimes we wish people would have more reflectiveness, and I have a hard time imagining that this guy would come back and be like, "You know, that was insensitive." Especially because he did it to ANOTHER guy in the same group without kids not by choice! I love that you imagine him as repentant.
DeleteWell that boss is not giving a good first impression, is he!? How insensitive
ReplyDelete*Jaw drop* Wow. Talk about insensitive. And I can't believe his response! Bare minimum - empathize!
ReplyDeleteI think the guy was just waiting to talk about his kids -- and when Bryce's response wasn't what he expected, he just automatically spewed out his next planned lines anyway. (eyeroll) People really do not THINK, do they??
ReplyDelete