A Conversation.

My week has been almost interminable. It's been a great week, to be honest. I did quite a bit of thinking and problem solving this week, spurred by conversations.

The first effective conversation I had this week was called by two other managers, both right around a year into their first career in management. Both are female, hispanic managers, and I'm only pointing it out because it is so. Both seem to feel that I speak to them poorly or am disrespectful to them. They addressed this with S., who is upper-management in my organization. She basically called a meeting between these two managers, my store manager B., and me.

The two women were offered an opportunity to open communication with me, they feel there's a problem with me. They apparently told S. they did not like the way I spoke to them. However, what they addressed at this meeting was that I take control of a shift when I'm in the store. One specific complaint that was voiced was regarding a day earlier this week when I came on the floor at about 8:10 and there was no positioning guide completed, no Pre-shift work at all. In fact it was being so poorly managed that it spurred a previous post entitled GROWTH.

So I came in and took over, by doing the Pre-shift planning that should have already been done. I positioned everyone and started giving out breaks, and signed our Accountability Sheet, which basically is a manager's signature that they have done a customer-visibility travel path (where the customer can see) and made sure everything was right.

This incident was mentioned. However, let's take a flashback one week prior to the manager's meeting held the previous week. These same two managers complained that no one else filled out the Accountability Sheet (which may actually be true) so we all agreed, at their urging, to take a more active hand in getting that particular item taken care of.

Now, within the course of a week, their specific complaint became the direct opposite of what it was originally, regarding a specific task. I felt attacked unjustly, but I was able to keep my cool. This doesn't always happen, but I did it.

I voiced the switch in bitching they were making, and pointed out how silly it is. Further, they claim I'm off the floor for hours at a time, patent bullshit. However, I addressed that very well also.

I asked them to think for a moment about 3 months past, how they saw their job and responsibilities, and if they thought then about most of the things they do now. Both of them were honest and said, well, no, not really. So I asked them to imagine 3 months from now, can they really see all the new responsibilities they may take on, and the new details of their jobs? Both agreed, no. Meanwhile, B. is nodding his head off. Then, this is when I had their attention. (This is the first direct quote I've made on this blog.) "Now, Ladies," said I, "I'm seriously a few years further along that responsibility path than you. Do you even want to try to imagine all the details I've got delegated to me, to take care of during the times I'm on the clock?"

I further explained that it's necessary, when possible to dip off the floor for 5-10 minutes at a time, taking care of the store and running things.

I think I got through to them. However, S. was completely focused on how they didn't like how I communicated with them. The problem is, apparently, that I'm brisk with words, I'm a very big and handsome guy, I've got a deep bellowing voice, and I'm commanding. (Picture Zaff Branigan from Futurama, with pants.) I can't help any of those things.