On the ninth floor｜How should we address officials and leaders in our daily work and life?

01

Perhaps everyone can appreciate that in our society, there is a deep-seated officialdom culture. Of course, this is related to our history and cultural traditions, the “scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants.” It used to be said that all professions were inferior, only studying was superior, but what was the purpose of studying? Most of the purpose was to take the imperial examinations, seek fame, and sell oneself to the emperor’s family. As the saying goes: “In the morning, a farmer’s son, in the evening, a member of the emperor’s court.”

Although the times have changed, the officialdom culture has still not changed. So, how to address officials/leaders is a great learning, if the address is appropriate, perhaps it will not achieve twice the result with half the effort. But if the address is inappropriate, oh, everyone understands.

Generally speaking, in daily life and work, if a person has a position, then when addressing the other party, you should call them by their position, and not directly call them by their name. Otherwise, it is disrespectful, even if he is just a secretary of a neighborhood committee, we should also call him secretary.

It is the same in the workplace, with general managers and deputy general managers everywhere, and chairmen and directors hanging around. If you don’t know the other party’s background, just add the word “general” after their surname, and you probably won’t be wrong, even if he is just a driver. If you call him Mr. Zhang or Mr. Wang, not only will you not make a mistake, but he will also be very happy to hear it.

02

The workplace address is relatively simple, but the address for people within the system, especially for leaders, is much more complicated.

Simply put, if a person’s surname is Zhang, and his position is section chief, we can only call him Section Chief Zhang, if he is a division chief, we should call him Division Chief Zhang, or simply Section Zhang or Division Zhang.

It is absolutely impossible to call him by his name directly, but if you directly call him by his position, such as calling him Section Chief or Division Chief, you probably won’t make a mistake either.

Such an address seems to have become a customary fixed rule, if you do not follow this rule, then it must be a manifestation of low emotional intelligence. Moreover, it will most likely make the leader unhappy.

If the leader is not happy, can he make you happy?

03

When we address the leaders’ positions, we must also learn to do addition and omission, for example, if a person’s surname is Li, and he is only a deputy division chief or deputy county magistrate, but when we address him, we must call him Division Chief Li or County Magistrate Li, and absolutely cannot call him Deputy Division Chief Li or Deputy County Magistrate Li.

This word “deputy”, although it is a louse on a bald head, but you must not mention it in person, otherwise you will have violated a taboo!

If you call him Division Chief Li or County Magistrate Li, he will be very happy to hear it. If you call him Deputy Division Chief Li or Deputy County Magistrate Li, he will be unhappy eight out of ten times, although he is actually a deputy, not a regular.

Moreover, if he holds multiple positions, you must call the one with the highest rank. For example, a Wang, the deputy town head of a township, but also a member of the township’s Party committee, then, at this time, it is better to call him Committee Member Wang than Town Head Wang, which will make him feel more comfortable.

If it is a Zhao, the deputy county magistrate, but also a member of the county Party standing committee, then you should call him Standing Committee Member Zhao, and not call him County Magistrate Zhao.

As the saying goes, you should pick the soft persimmons to pinch, when addressing leaders, you should choose the one with the higher position to call, otherwise, the leader will also be unhappy.

04

The several situations mentioned above are relatively easy for everyone to understand. But our leadership system and title levels are really too complicated, sometimes you still have to spend some brain cells.

For example, a person has several positions and titles on the surface, but at the same time is a researcher or inspector. At this time, you need to pay attention that this researcher and inspector are often higher than his original position level, if his surname is Wu, you should call him Researcher Wu or Inspector Wu, although it sounds strange, but the other party will definitely be very appreciative.

Some people will also have a bracketed note of the treatment they enjoy at the time of appointment, such as a leader at the level of a section chief, enjoying the treatment of a deputy division, you should call him Division, enjoying the treatment of a deputy bureau, you should call him Bureau.

Of course, if you really can’t figure out the other party’s background, then just call him “leader”, and you will definitely not make a mistake.

05

Position is a good thing, even after retirement, many people are not willing to let it go. For example, a person finally retired from the position of a certain director or town head, then, when you address him, it is best to still call him a certain director or a certain town head, of course, considering that he is old, you can also add the word “old” before the position, and call him Old Director or Old Town Head.

In this way, the other party will also be very happy eight out of ten times, perhaps he will not say anything, but he will definitely praise you for being sensible in his heart, and think that you respect him.

Every time at this time, Lao Xu would feel that the position is like the emperor’s new clothes, once you put it on, you can never take it off.

06

At the entrance of many government buildings, there will be a landscape stone, with five big characters “Serve the People” inscribed on it, Lao Xu thinks that these five words of Comrade Teacher are very good, as the saying goes, the people’s servant, is to serve the people.

Looking at the previous movies or books, regardless of the size of the position, the basic mutual address is Comrade so-and-so, Lao Xu also thinks this address is very good, comrade, people with the same ideals, the ancient saying goes: “With the same virtue, we are of one mind, with one mind, we are comrades.”

When Lao Xu wrote this article, he also specifically checked, and found that after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, we have repeatedly and repeatedly advocated and required to call each other comrades. However, the paradoxical thing is that in real life, we are still very few or dare not call leaders comrades.

As the saying goes, if the name is correct, the words are justified, Lao Xu believes that perhaps when, we can boldly and confidently call the leaders and officials comrades, perhaps our officialdom style can become clear and bright, so that everyone in office can uphold the original intention and concept of serving the public while in office.