January 1985
"Ralph. I'd like to meet with you and Fred sometime this week," Jeff inserted into the closing pleasantries of the corporate communication group's monthly meeting with Ralph, now the new president of the dairy cooperative.
Jeff's baritone voice was strained, and the group of four, gathered around Ralph's desk, suddenly became silent.
"Fred and I have a disagreement over work schedules," Jeff continued. Fred noticed Judy, Jeff's counterpart in public relations within the department, drop her jaw in disbelief. Ralph, with no knowledge of what Jeff was talking about, narrowed his lips.
Fred felt a twitch go through his neck. He couldn't believe Jeff was going through with his threat of going to the president with an issue Fred had repeatedly described as not negotiable.
"OK. How about Thursday at 1:30?" Ralph said, confused but open to the request.
"Fine," Jeff replied triumphantly.
"How's that for you, Fred?"
"That'll work for me, Ralph," Fred said in scrambled vowel sounds as he ignored Jeff and, instead, looked Ralph directly in the eye. Ralph momentarily glanced at him, but his eyes then began to flit back and forth along the horizon outside the expanse of windows that surrounded his corner office. Fred reached for his crutches as Jeff and Judy left the room and then saw the frown on Ralph's forehead.
"I need to fill you in on what's happening here," Fred quietly stated. "I thought Jeff and I could iron out the issues between us, but apparently he doesn't think so. Could I meet with you briefly later this afternoon on this matter?"
"That would be helpful," Ralph said stiffly. "I've got a 4:30 open."
"Fine," Fred said. "I'll outline where we're at on all this."
As Fred walked out of his office, he scolded himself for not giving Ralph some forewarning that, for several days, Jeff had been threatening to bring their disagreement about his workload and compensation to Ralph's attention. Jeff maintained Fred was being unfair and he needed someone at the next level of authority to resolve the two issues. But Fred never thought he would actually request a meeting with Ralph about them.
Fred kept telling Jeff that it would be a mistake, that it wasn't how issues were resolved in the current corporate culture. Deep down, he knew it would be political suicide for Jeff and hurt his own image in Ralph's eyes as a manager and a leader -- especially because he walked and talked with difficulty.
And it was just bad timing. Ralph, as vice president of manufacturing, had just been selected by the organization's board of directors to be president. And Ralph had decided to bring Fred with him as vice president for corporate communication.
Fred could feel the pressure to consistently prove he had the ability to manage people. It hung in the air every time he walked into the executive wing.
"Jeff believes his workload is too heavy," Fred told Ralph bluntly that afternoon. Ralph's forehead stood out, flustered, from his thin layer of almost gray hair. "We keep records of our time by project in our department. It's true -- he's putting in about 55 hours a week, but we all do."
"So, what's the problem?" Ralph asked. Fred saw the faint lines of that frown on his forehead begin to deepen. His eyes narrowed.
"Well, he and his wife have a new baby daughter at home," Fred said. "He'd like to spend more time with them. And, he's comparing his salary with other publication editors in the area -- claims we're not competitive. I've told him that a mid-year adjustment is not in the cards."
"So, why are you two coming to me?"
"I didn't expect him to bring these issues to your attention. He probably needs to hear it from you," Fred admitted, realizing, as an afterthought, how weak that sounded to Ralph.
"And I want to hear what he has to say," Ralph confirmed. His tone had an edge that was both surprisingly open and yet troubling. Fred left Ralph's office not sure what to expect when they met again with Jeff on Thursday.
Fred didn't understand Jeff's lack of political acumen. Didn't he understand that making Fred appear to be ineffective in front of his boss was one of the basic mistakes to avoid? It was 1985. Maybe he was a child of the '60s and never really grew out of its rebellion.
Or, did he believe Fred was a push-over -- that, somehow, due to his physical disabilities, he could ignore the conventional pattern of dealing with Fred as his immediate supervisor and gain the upper hand by hopping over his head?
As communication director, Fred had hired Jeff four years before, after he had worked in an electrical utility's public relations department. He was a good writer, and that's why Fred had chosen him to edit the company's internal and external publications.
But, even though Jeff's resume listed a BS degree in journalism, Fred had received rumors that he, in fact, had not completed his studies toward a degree. Was he prone to taking short cuts when the going got tough? Was escalating a disagreement into an issue which had to be considered by the president of the company a symptom of a larger problem in how he approached life?
Jeff began Thursday's meeting by showing Ralph his time sheets, a smattering of figures that Fred knew Ralph wouldn't absorb. Ralph was not a visual man. He liked short, verbal summaries of a situation instead of a lot of detail. Fred could see the blood rise in his face.
"I'm not being paid a competitive salary for a job that is taking more than 55 hours a week," Jeff summarized, "and Fred refuses to do anything to address this situation."
Ralph shifted himself in his black leather executive chair. His face was red, but his lips grew white as he pursed them before he spoke.
"I know what it's like to start a family on a limited income and work long hours doing it," he finally said in a controlled, tense voice. "I've done it myself."
"I understand that, Ralph," Jeff agreed. "But ..."
"Essentially, you're doing the same job Fred did before you came," Ralph broke in. "Is that not right, Fred?"
"That's right," Fred concurred.
"But, that's not the case," Jeff objected, taking a quick swipe with his right hand through his long, black hair that curled to his collar. "Fred has added so many other things to my job in the last year that ..."
"Jeff, that's not true," Fred broke in, trying to calm the situation but get his point-of-view across. Ralph's face was getting redder. "It's the same job ...
"But, you're single, and you were putting in 60 to 70 hours a week ... "
"OK, guys. I've heard all I'm going to hear from the both of you," Ralph blurted out. "You realize I have never had to deal with this kind of thing in the other four departments? I spend more time with you people than any other group."
"You're right, Ralph," Fred humbly agreed. "You shouldn't have to spend time on this issue."
"I felt this was my only recourse, Ralph," Jeff said boldly. "Fred's not addressing the situation."
"We don't adjust salaries in mid-year," Ralph stated bluntly. "It's up to you two to resolve the workload issue."
With a shrug, Jeff left Ralph's office.
“Trust is built with consistency.”
- Lincoln Chafee
"I've got to be candid with you, Fred," Ralph said in a milder manner. "I'm asking myself, 'Do you really have what it takes to manage people?'"
"I believe I do," Fred stated weakly. "This was just an end run I didn't see coming."
"Well, let's see how you handle this situation," he challenged.
"I'll handle it," Fred said more confidently. He retrieved the crutches underneath his chair and stumbled out of Ralph's office.
Fred continued to meet weekly with Jeff, asking him to explore ways to make his time on the job more productive. The sessions would invariably end with a restatement of his objections about his work situation.
In reply, Fred would repeat what was becoming a litany for him: "I'm not going to change the responsibilities or the salary for this position. You have a choice -- decide to work within these requirements at this salary level or find another opportunity that's more suitable to you."
Within three months, Jeff finally announced he was leaving to write for a newspaper.
Jeff apparently was telling others about the sessions, which Fred considered confidential. They must have been a favorite item on the office grapevine, for, as Fred would walk through the hallways with the soft rubber tips of his crutches bouncing off the red brick floor, his co-workers would, at times, curiously ask, "How are 'things' going?"
The grapevine had apparently also reached the corner office of the executive wing. During Fred's mid-year review, Ralph admitted, "You've shown you can be consistent in managing people."
Fred’s takeaway tip from Episode 2: Consistency counts in leadership, management and (perhaps) everyday life.
Here’s to elderhood and vulnerability!
Jim Hasse, ABC, GCDF retired, author of “Opening Up” newsletter
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Just five months out of college and still “green” on my new job as newsletter editor for a local dairy cooperative, I inaccurately reported the organization’s member earnings for the just-finished previous year in my second issue of “Dairy Express.”
I expected to be fired on the spot.
But, my boss gave me the opportunity to publish a correction in the next issue of the newsletter. It turned out to be a timely clarification of a commonly misunderstood interpretation of cooperative earnings among our members. So the personal embarrassment I felt was not entirely wasted.
And it gave me a chance to establish myself as a “not-so-cocky” college kid among staff and members.
* When did you have an opportunity to prove your legitimacy in a work situation?