Keeping Your Leadership Role – Principle #3

Chad-ley #3 – Get Your Hands Out of Your Pockets        

While standing in the garage of the funeral home outside of the public’s eye, we were waiting to load the casket into the hearse and the flowers into the van.  The majority owner of the funeral home looked at this young 19-year-old college student and said in his normal gruff voice, “Get your g@* d@%* hands out of your pocket.  People will think you are playing with yourself.”  Embarrassed by this outburst, I removed my hands without saying a word, even though I would have liked to really unload on this ogre of a boss. 

However, as they say, what goes around comes around, I didn’t have to wait long for some atonement.  Within sixty seconds, I heard Mr. Chadwick utter the following, “Bob, get your g@* d@%* hands out of your pocket.  People will think you are playing with yourself.”  Wow, the minority owner was taking up for a bottom-rung employee to the majority owner.   Well, Bob got red in the face and stormed off.  Thus, the conception of leadership’s Chad-ley #3, “Get Your Hands Out of Your Pockets” – the principle of “justice” for all.

Many American workplaces suffer from the practice of inequitable administration of policies.  There are various causes of this destructive practice.  One, of course, was what we mentioned in an earlier article – placement due to politics and favors.  I was working with an owner of a small beauty salon who was struggling to keep the doors open during the down-turn of the economy.  One day while spending some time with her at her business, I could tell at the very beginning of our visit that she was really frustrated.  She opened up and told me that she just discovered that her most senior employee was making appointments after business hours so that she wouldn’t have to give the owner a cut of the charges.  This owner said, “Not only is she my most senior and best employee, but she was a real, good friend before I ever opened my business.  Now, I don’t know what to do.”  I asked her what would her other employees think if she didn’t hand out some kind of discipline and how would it affect morale in the salon.  We discussed it a little longer.  She decided to give her a 30-day suspension since she believed that she had done this violation approximately 15-20 times.  I agreed that this discipline was more than fair for all parties involved.  Needless to say, the stylist quit and morale remained high for the remaining employees.

Take the above example and compare it to the workplace where favoritism is given to certain employees.  As an employee many years ago of a workplace where this occurred, I could give you example after example of these ill-advised actions.  It resulted in division of departmental employees, low morale and lack of trust and respect for supervision.  No matter what supervision ever said or did, the majority of employees never believed them nor wanted to give more than their 100%. 

When those in leadership deal with others whether in handing out responsibilities, promotional opportunities, discipline, or whatever, fair and just considerations/actions must be in the forefront of all decisions.  If not, as previously mentioned, trust is violated and leadership is lost among the followers.  Remember, when you are ready to tell someone else to take his hands out of his pockets, check to see where your hands are.