The Right Amount of 'Juice'

 

I worry about my ability to manage people more than once a day; I’ve been a manager of employees in some capacity now for close to ten years. I started out a Target overseeing the checkout lanes and fetching coins for the cashiers when they ran out, fixing technical problems with the equipment, dealing with unhappy customers, and occasionally ‘coaching’ employees on performance issues. The last one is by far my least favorite. If I had to pinpoint the really distasteful part of it I would have to say it is not knowing what level of ‘juice’ to bring to the review. I will define ‘juice’ as the level of seriousness in attitude that gets funneled from boss to underling. Too much juice equals R Lee Ermey, the foul mouthed drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket.; Not enough juice and you sound like the milquetoast Lumbergh from Office Space.

‘Review’ is a misleading term that sounds weirdly positive; this is a you-screwed-up-again-hearing where appropriate measures are taken to prevent you screwing up again.  This is where mistakes are easy to make by the boss (me) in choosing the wrong amount of ‘juice’ for the occasion. “Listen you little punk…” is not a great way to start the meeting since neither party wants to be there. Hostility and venom are frowned on by society (nanny state whiners!) and really sets the tone of nasty discourse which leads to hurt feelings and sometimes crying; that was only once though Get off my back!

The drill sergeant (don’t call me instructor!) aggression works well in the Army and since most people won’t see basic training a more realistic level of ‘juice’ is needed. As abrasive and direct as the angry sergeant can seem, an equally ineffective tactic is the how-can-I-say-you-did-wrong-without-really-saying-it approach. This is the passive aggressive mode that creates more confusion than it solves problems. Not telling someone that they were late to work and that makes others late to take break is not being honest about the level of selfishness that being late equals. The ‘buddy’ manager is one who isn’t getting the most out of employees either in honesty or effort but it is easier than addressing the problem. Besides, the careful teaching methods and attention to non-offensive verbal communication from corporate lectures can make anyone nervous about saying the wrong thing. The ease with which a company can be sued over management practice or procedure forces research teams to cover all possibilities in the drafting of the language. Some people are just more difficult than others and no full proof plan or tone of voice in a meeting will affect a change in behavior. That is why big companies with solid rules of behavior are better for young managers. A strong set of guidelines acts like a backstop for someone inexperienced in how to treat a rule flaunting worker. The amount of ‘juice’ is a secondary concern for the young manager since all that need happen is for the manager to issue a general statement of fault and a general statement of corrective actions to be taken.

This is how I started; with a uniform set of guidelines that employees were required to follow. It was the best learning tool for dealing with employees when they messed up and I learned how to talk to them without getting really upset and without being afraid to talk straight to them about their infractions. I remember some of them got very upset with my attention to the strict application of discipline for employees being late, taking long lunches, using cell phones during work and not showing up for work. I understood how uncompromising I was being, especially in relation to some of the other shift managers, but I was concerned about being taken advantage of. A young manager has to set a tone, at least that’s what I told myself, in order to get respect and finish the many tasks required of him/her. Besides, there was an out-of-control aspect to the way the cashiers were managed with everyone working at his/her own speed and effort. No one had really held the corporate line on bad behavior; it was a perfect job for me. I needed to be tough and I was.

One really important lesson I learned was to always correct someone away from the prying eyes of others or they will feel humiliated. Having people show up late was common problem when I started and on a particular night I noticed a cashier coming in over 30 minutes late for his shift. “Hey” I yelled at him across the aisle, “You were supposed to be here over a long time ago, now everyone’s break is late thanks to you”. He shrugged it off with a nervous laugh but asked if he could speak to me after work. I agreed but couldn’t imagine what excuse he could come up with before his shift ended. When we did sit down he pointed his shaky finger my way and gave me a litany of reasons why my ‘calling him out’ was wrong. He clearly had spent the last few hours letting my angry words wash over him and allowing it to shape his concise and bitter retort. If I would have uttered one word in protest he probably would have slammed the table and reached over it to choke me, he was hot. I let him speak and didn’t interrupt; he had a great argument and he didn’t make excuses for being late. His complaint was in my lack of discretion in taking him to task where others could hear and humiliating him. It was a real lesson for me in how to properly address a concern. I apologized when he finished unleashing the pent up frustration and although I am not sure it was everything he wanted, he did seem to relax after the ordeal. He sensed my genuine regret and we left for the evening on good terms. I only stayed at the job for a few more months, but I learned a key lesson from that employee. No matter how upset or frustrated you are and no matter how urgent the situation, never humiliate an employee who is responsible to you.

I used too much juice in dealing with the situation that evening but since then I’ve gone soft on occasions when I should have held a difficult line. The trick is to constantly evaluate and try to improve. Write things down that went well and things that didn’t go well and surprise yourself with lessons learned along the way. I’ll probably always worry about my ability to manage people and the effect of my style on overall success. But being concerned is a necessary to improving. You can’t fix what you don’t notice.