Typical day at the office and even better only two conference calls planned. I was energized and ready to see what the world had prepared for me. You see I have been managing people, projects, customers, policies, and even kids for years. Is it possible to still learn something after twenty-five years? Heck yes.
While having a fairly stress free day, I happened upon an employee from one of my teams who needed to talk. Nothing major I thought so I had him come in and then I shut my door.
Turns out he has a family crisis in which a family member is very ill. He walks me through her illness, treatment plan, family, and most importantly how he was coping. You see recently his work has been slipping, and I was worried about his commitment to the job. Hearing this demonstrated to me that there was so much going on with him personally that of course it was impacting him professionally. While we need to protect our company in situations like this we must never forget about the team member. After all they are valuable and help the company carry the goals forward.
Once the meeting ended I was able to contact our HR Manager and begin the coordination for family leave. This will secure his position but allow him the needed time with his family.
Realizations from today:
- We are all human and just need assistance. Rather that is to listen or take action.
- Management is a tool for the company to meet goals but Management is a tool for the employee to seek help.
- We are all one working unit in life, be kind and help others!
