Discussion 8

Johnny Wilson

I think we've all had bad managers coming up.  Most of them are all the same.  When i was 17 working in a fast food resturants i experienced the first manager to favor other workers. He bad leadership made people quit, cry, and report him to HR.

Favoritism-He gave all the ladies more hours and the weekend nights off.

He was a bad manager because ever noticed these things.  Nobody wanted to work for him  I've never seen so many disgruntle workers.  

I've also had a few good managers as well.  The good managers were

Mentor- They took the time to help you find your way.  They understood I was in high school and didn't put me on crazy night schedules when I had school the next day.

Trained-Taking he time to show you how to do the job.  I always though this was key because people stuggled with the basics.

Inspired-Everyone wanted to work for him because he made us better.\

The good managers stood out and kept the company together.  The hiring center was not a revolving door.  Retention was high and we all strived to be better workers.

John Sapp

The worst manager I ever had cultivated a culture of self-interest, self-defense, and anxiety. He would constantly check in on each division; requesting details and information that were not readily available nor given the expectation to be. Accusation were frequent as were pitting one employee against another in “he-said, she-said” type discussion. This was combined with the fairly broad understanding that progress and profit were the primary, and maybe secondary, goal. This produced an environment that often made employees anxious; frequently seeking to take additional steps to ensure their backs were covered if something were to go wrong.  Motivation was your pay, and there wasn’t much else.

My best manager wasn’t even technically my manager. He was older, already retired, and hired on to be a co-worker but had experience and knowledge of the field. Frequently there would be discussion about processes, and why they were set up the way they were. He would offer feedback on possible alternatives, but without being overwhelming or overly negative. I think that is what made the biggest impact, it would have been easy to just agree and complain, but he offered insight and suggestion without being overly negative toward anyone. You also felt heard when he listened, and this inclined you to want to listen to him when he made suggestions as well