10/31/12–Visible effects of a high “D” manager
My visit to Schaumburg provided much insight into a management style vastly different from my own. The team there was ground into a quivering mess by the vice-grip their high “D” manager has on every minute of their shift. I’ve never seen or could even imagine a group of adults who so uniformly recognize the ineffectiveness of their superior. I cannot count how many times I heard a reference to being yelled at. It was sad to see, but even more so dumbfounding that the manager doesn’t get why “friendliness of staff” is at 63%–an objective measure that’s 20% less than the company goal. There for 5 days, I wasn’t in a position to voice my opinion or attempt to change anything. And I always keep in mind I’m newer than anyone so I should watch/listen for awhile.
What I got from the trip was a great many new acquaintances which I plan on keeping in touch with, in addition to a valuable reinforcement of encouragement for doing O3s. These are happy, smart, fun people and it’s just pathetic that in 7 months the manager has less of a relationship with them than I formed in five days. Not a brag on me, but again, it makes me wonder what goes on for the entire shift… What does she talk about with them?! I’m still upset that that many people can hate coming to work for such an easily remedied reason. The manager of course blows off attempts to wake her up and any acceptance of a personality issue is quickly shadowed by her blaming the partner who trained her. Funny thing is, she mentions the same things her staff says about her. She does genuinely love her staff, and her whip-cracking and yelling are only manifestations of a results-demanding manager. This is why I have hope for the team–and she’s only been there 7 months. But Dad always says people almost never change and even guests hate interaction with her so it will be a challenge to say the least.
QOTW: “I just don’t want to be yelled at again.” –Everyone at Schaumburg
?FNW: Can I hit 7/7 O3s? 5/5 (2 days off)
11/11/2017–I wrongly attributed her struggles to being a high D. Many high D managers are perfectly effective. She did really care for her staff and was just a bad fit for that type of work environment at that time. I shouldn’t have said I had a better relationship with the staff in 5 days than she did in 7 months. I was immature to do so; in 5 days I didn’t have enough time to annoy people! Of course it would seem like we get along, and on top of that I didn’t have real deliverables in that short window–I had it easy for that week.