Sandy’s manager, Keith, has asked her to speak with one of her employees about the employee’s 'inappropriate' dress.  Sandy tells Keith that whenever she does this, her staff member points out that others in the department are not in compliance with the dress code (that other managers and supervisors are not enforcing) and even one of the other managers is not in compliance. This has been an ongoing topic of conversation in your department.

 

Make it a mutual problem-solving conversation

An overall goal is to make this conversation on the dress code a mutual problem-solving session. Sandy has spoken to the employee before, so just repeating that event will not solve the problem.

 

Be specific

When asking your manager to do something, be as specific as you can about what the action looks like.

 

Once you  know what you want or need, be willing to talk with your manager about the options. The initial “thing” you want may not be doable, so you want to try to find an alternative that will work.

 

Stay in the conversation

Even when your managers balks at what you are asking the goal is still to stay in the conversation to be able to find  a mutual agreement.  If you give up too soon, you will be stuck with the unresolved problem.