So there are five things that I can pretty much guarantee will make your manager nuts. I’ll translate what your manager is hearing when you use them.

1. “I assumed…..”

Translation: ” I didn’t do the due diligence. I took things at face value. I didn’t do the work, and took the easy way out.”

2. “It wasn’t my job..”

Translation: “I might have known it was a problem, but I ignored it because it wasn’t in my job description.”

3. “No one told me to do it…”

Translation: “I need to be told to do everything. I have no self-initiative.”

4. “It’s so and so’s fault. Here’s what he/she did wrong.”

Translation: “I throw other people under the bus. Yay me!”

5. “Just tell me what you want me to do.”

Translation: “I’ve given up and can’t add value to the decision making process anymore. I just became an order taker.”

Trust me on this. If these are phrases you use, think about what you’re really saying. Is that what you want to say?