Should I correct my boss's awful grammar?

26 October 2009 @ 11:06 am EDT

A reader writes:

I have a senior manager who has dreadful grammar. He mispronounces well-known company names that are also clients. He rarely enunciates the plural of words (which makes his usual team greeting "hey you guy!" irritating and confusing). He sends emails with multiple and repetitious grammatical errors. I'm itching to correct him but fear the feedback will not be received well because my colleagues have tolerated it for so long. On the other hand, I struggle to take him seriously when I need to decipher what he's saying.

Should I say anything or should I learn to live with it?

Without knowing anything else about your manager, I'd say you shouldn't say anything. Presumably he also does this around his manager, and it's that person's job to address it. For your own sake, I'd skip creating the awkwardness that could result if you tackle this yourself.

You could probably address the issue of mispronouncing company names, though, by posing it as a question. For instance: "Oh, is it pronounced 'ama-zone'? I've always pronounced it 'amazon.'"

Other than that, I suppose you could suggest that your group start proofreading each other's work, but then you'll be making everyone else jump through a hoop that only he needs.

Overall, I'd just resign yourself to it. I love grammar like little else, but he appears to have been able to advance despite this, so this isn't the worst thing in the world.

Alison Green is the author of Managing to Change the World: The Nonprofit Leader's Guide to Getting Results. She is currently chief of staff for the Marijuana Policy Project, a medium-sized nonprofit lobbying organization, where she oversees day-to-day management of the staff as well as hiring, firing, and staff development. She blogs at Ask a Manager.

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Should I correct my boss's awful grammar?

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