I went home to the States for two weeks at the end of November, and had a truly solid, unforgettable time. I enjoyed/was annoyed by a few things they do back home (better seafood, excruciating saturation of media coverage, Thanksgiving, Day After Thanksgiving shopping), but few things left me more annoyed than a close friend of mine who was left up in arms by his/her job predicament with a change in management.
Hence, I wasn’t on a ‘complete’ vacation from work. And since my middle name is ‘small town gossip’, I knew I had found something I could use.
At any rate, this person (OK, it was a she: Let’s call her Marguerite) was left in the lurch by a new, no-nonsense boss who seemed to make clear to her that he was there just to make her life hell. While I only got one side of the story, the workings of this person could possibly have revealed to me some of the underpinnings of almost any change in managers in a business setting. While this is one side of the story, I want my readers to know in full disclosure that by no means do I have reason to question Marguerite’s account of these affairs. Her reputation, diligence and acute sense of human decency are unquestionable. I stand up for her, and, therefore, feel I have to defend her credentials at the expense of being completely objective.
Some background: the business in this story is a higher-end restaurant/bar in a small college town. Marguerite had been hired roughly one year ago as its manager. Her main goal in the role was to upgrade the bar sales, revamp the menu and dip into a huge university market of customers that, prior to, had been all but priced out altogether.
Having only restaurant/bar experience on her CV, Marguerite nevertheless dove in headfirst as a first-time professional manager, and in so doing left a solid imprint that met each specified goal. The menu was friendly and innovative, drink (increased happy hours, discount-priced drink nights) and food specials (Can you say 40 cent wing night? You could after you tried these babies!) abound, customer-friendly staff left an indelible impression that played a role in the subsequent repeat business upswing, and sales went up.
But in a sign that better is never quite enough, along came the current manager in question, as the hierarchy wanted to have some noted experience on board. Fair enough, Marguerite responded. I look forward to working with him/her.
While the new manager continued to increase sales and provide solid ideas, the communication skills this person (OK: he, and we’ll call him Bilko) displayed directly to my friend proved lacking to the point of a complete and almost direct target of ostracism for the business’ greater good.
Older, borderline chauvinistic, military background and possessing a poor sense of humour (the name I assigned should make more sense now), Bilko’s no-nonsense approach led to the point where Marguerite could feel the atmosphere closing in on her. He started untrue and unfair whisper campaigns against her, confiding in the restaurant’s chef (Wolfgang) that he had misgivings about Marguerite’s abilities. How do I know this, you ask? Wolfgang, a close confidant and trustee of Marguerite, turned the tables on Bilko and confided what he had been told back to Marguerite. Communication tactics foiled.
Other communication faux pas followed, but somehow managed to be just as insulting. When a new technology for punching in orders was introduced, the idea of fingerprint touch screens was raised. Marguerite soundly voiced concerns about the loss of identity and, perhaps, even trust from co-workers under such a system. While such concerns may not have represented a majority opinion, they did forge a viewpoint that forward thinkers in a managerial role have been apt to raise in lesser managerial roles throughout time.
Bilko brushed her aside in a sexist, flippant attempt at humour. ‘I probably should have mentioned that we had a flaming liberal in this meeting,’ he said, laughing at his own petulant words. Marguerite told me that any remaining respect she had for Bilko was waning rapidly after that comment.
It all came to a head one day in a heated exchange that led to another meeting the day after. Heads had cooled, but Bilko, according to Marguerite, had brought in another staff member. She said to me that said staff member was there primarily in case other flare ups took place, and Bilko would then have a witness to cover his tracks. Marguerite refused to take the bait, even after being told she was being ‘re-assigned’ to the role of bartender. She says she’ll enjoy it more, but I can only lament what could have been had the gentleman only been a more professional communicator.
For the sake of you, my readers, the communication mistakes I’ve mentioned serve as the entirety of my focus. The actions of Bilko seem to reflect insecurity and unprofessional standards in the quality of his work. It may be an effort to oust someone’s credibility, or simply a way of downgrading the manager to create a template that reflects his success as opposed to all that she did to put things on a positive track. Whatever it is, it is this kind of juvenile action that does extreme harm to a boss’s image in the eyes of his workers. Moreover, if this is to be a professional standard, what does it say about management? Is Bilko the only one who does these sorts of things? Hardly. Able and unable workers alike have felt such wrath. Credit stealing (or coattail riding) abounds. Although it may avoid the writings of those who scribe his job recommendations, the next set of workers will probably be left to shaking their heads at mention of his name. And while Bilko’s own ideas may serve as credible and achieving, it is the petty communication misgivings I’ve listed here that will follow him from job to job until he finds it within himself to handle this part of his job better.
For his sake and the sake of the work environment he creates, Bilko must change his communication tactics. And like the liberal he clearly chooses to denigrate, it is a change his workers can believe in.
