Years ago, I met Charlie at a Chamber of Commerce networking group. Although officially retired, he continued to provide coaching services and valuable advice to small businesses.
We decided to hire him to work with our organization. Before he agreed to take us on as a client, he made it clear that he needed full and unfettered access to our staff.
That wasn’t a problem. I truly believed I understood how our staff felt about their jobs, our company, and management.
Early in the process, he sent out a survey to our staff. We’d be able to see a summary of the data, but not the actual responses. Again, I wasn’t worried because I had a good idea of what they’d say.
Boy, was I wrong. His results shocked, humbled, and upset me.
An overwhelming majority of the staff knew when they’d made a mistake, but only a small percentage knew when they’d done a good job.
Most people thought I was always angry, but they often had no idea with whom or why.
Clearly, we had a big morale problem and didn’t even realize it. Charlie’s sage advice was that I “put the 2X4 away”.
This made me pause, reevaluate my management style, and implement some key changes. I stopped searching for someone to blame when things went wrong. It wasn’t worth it.
Instead, I realized it was better to ascertain whether this was a systemic problem or simply a mistake.
If it was human error, we’d discuss it and move on. No one was put in the doghouse. If it were a systemic problem, we fixed it.
Accountability started with me. I started apologizing a lot more and looking at my failings before blaming others—a practice that continues today.
I do this with both our staff and clients. If I enter incorrect information into a worksheet that provides data for the contracts we generate, I take responsibility. If it’s uncertain where the error is, I take responsibility.
One thing I’ve learned even more is that when most of our staff makes a mistake, they’re bothered by it and punish themselves; they don’t need me getting upset with them on top of that.
As an organization, we aim to celebrate our victories, recognize those responsible, and inform people when they are doing a good job through both public acknowledgment and, when possible, financial rewards.
Although the change was sudden for me and I committed to it completely, it took a long time for our staff to accept it.
They kept waiting for the “old” me to return. Fortunately, that hasn’t happened, and the “2X4” has never returned.
For better or for worse, I’m not perfect. I still make mistakes and, on occasion, get angry. When there’s an issue, I try to address it quickly and positively, although it doesn’t always work.
Charlie Miller’s work with our company—especially the suggestion to dump the 2X4—had a very positive impact on me. Hopefully, I am not only a better manager today, but a better person.
Ken Abrahams is VP for Client Relations at Fun Enterprises, Inc., a company that specializes in event services from fully producing the event to simply providing entertainment.
