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Below is some management stew that's come across my desk:

Managerial Inspiration

I read an interesting article about Eddie Robinson, the ex-Grambling football coach who passed away recently. It appears there was a brand new reporter given the assignment of getting an interview with Robinson. This was when Robinson was about to surpass Bear Bryant in football wins and sportswriters from all over the country were flocking to the small school for interviews.
The freshly minted 18 year old reporter had no travel money so he had to make calls to the Grambling's sports director. He pleaded for a few minutes speak with Robinson to fulfill his assignment.
The reporter had given up all hope. After all, why would Robinson call him back when many major papers and magazines were vying for interviews?
About 11pm the night before the article was due, the new reporter received a call from Robinson. Robinson stayed on the phone for an hour with an 18 year old- a young writer he didn't even know. And while doing so gave added meaning to the concept of class.

Managerial Dedication

Ozzie Guillen, the White Sox manager, did one of his "questions or second guesses of myself" when he questioned his own spring training policy of having his position players play in more "B" games than regularly scheduled exhibition games. Ozzie pondered that if he switched his policy next spring, that the regulars would begin playing together as a unit sooner which could prove beneficial to the future cohesiveness of the team.
I like this not only because it shows that Guillen was secure enough as a manager to allow his second guessing to be quoted, but it shows the constant review of policies that good managers do to improve their operations.

Managing Generations

An article in the Tribune focused on the fact that there are four generations in the workplace:

Radio Babies (1930-1945)
Baby Boomers (1946- 1964)
Generation X (1965-1976)
Generation Y (1976-1991)

Since Radio Babies and Baby Boomers tend to want people to conform to the way they are, this co-mingling of eras can cause conflict in the workplace. A couple of ways to smooth the gaps those gaps might be:
For earlier generations to realize that Xers and Yers will get the job done- they just might go at it a bit differently than the Babies and the Boomers
For earlier generations to act their age and not try to be too hip
Also, the Xers and Yers may want to realize (as they become bosses of workers decades older than themselves), that the earlier generations may have some insights that could prove valuable in attaining goals.

Managerial Humiliation

I had the following instance relayed to me by a person who works as a professional employee for a large corporation:
Managed by a boss who lived and worked in Baltimore, the employee was told to go to a conference room and wait for a call from the boss. At this time, the employee would get news of her review, merit increase and bonus. This was supposed to occur at 12:30pm.
At 1:00pm, the boss hadn't called and the frustrated employee had to leave voice mails asking what was going on.
Let's even excuse the fact that the Baltimore boss couldn't be bothered to perform this important function face to face.
Whatever the circumstance how could the boss not make sure the employee knew the boss would be detained? (which, by the way, turned out to be neglect and bad management)
How could the boss so cavalierly treat a good employee?
How do you think this employee felt sitting alone in that conference room?
I'd like to suggest the following to all managers:
That performance reviews are important to employees
That money is very important to employees
That being professionally informed of these developments is important to the employees, the manager and the organization.
So, please if you're fortunate enough to be in a position to make a positive impact on an employee, consider doing the opposite of the above. Consider using grace and courtesy.
Steve Wyrostek MBA, BAPresident- Gentle Ears, Inc.Des Plaines, IL 60016steve@gentleears.comhttp://www.gentleears.com/
Member HRMAC, SHRM, ASTD, Association Forum of Chicago Regular Contributor to the Business Ledger
Gentle Ears- Where Listening and Learning Embrace

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