Alot in the mix here,
I use to say there are two types of managers

the first, plays to the applause of his/her manager, is a kiss-ass, and steps on people only to make himself look better

the second, works with his team, develops them, gains the respect of the team, and at every chance praises his team, never himself, because he/she realizes the team is a reflection of himself and everyone in it


I do believe age and maturity has alot to do with management style

When I was first meat manager, I was very young in my early 20's
I think in your 20's you are very ego-centric and competitive, not very mature, and if you dont have kids yet, not very understanding of those who do




most guys start out with poor management skills, 3 attitudes are prevalent

I can do it-so I expect you to

I wont "nitpic" someone, I'll just let many things build up, until I blow my top

I am the manager now, I dont have to set the example, or puts themselves abouve the crew/work, scheduling.


I deal with many meat managers a Day, I see the good, bad, and the ugly
The best style Ive seen, is the manager makes everyone feel important- sets the tone as a team, points out accomplishments, and compliments good performance, but also quick to correct anyone without threatening them.

One management class I took I learned this many yrs ago

You have DIRECTION and SUPPORT

Direction is hands on technical training, showing someone how to do a task, and follow thru.( black and white)

Suuport is on esteem, motivation, if you have a good employee, that knows the technical aspects of the position, (direction) then you need to motivate those employees A wise manager understands the difference between the two
also, a wise manager plays to the strengths of his/her crew and does not exploit weaknesses-some never learn this.


A wise manager doesnt beat up his/her crew, we often do monotonous/repetitive tasks, so at least, lets feel good about the hard works going into everyday






Ive worked in depts, that they were mostly back-stabbers, and gossipping about each other- it is poison, and we work much to hard to wallow in the puke of others-when I became manager, I wouldnt tolerate poison





MY management style today, depends on who Im dealing with-I have different approaches, Im quick to jump on guys that are very arrogant and ****y-(its all about them or how great they are) but I push, for creativity and compliment this bigtime, if someone tries something new (profit merchandising)
I also get a good pulse from the meat wrappers- I remember thru the years, the old meat specialists made it a point to befriend the wrappers and talk to them one on one, I can really see why now.
Be good to your meat wrappers!! (store managers also pay attention to what meat wrappers say)

mine is be nice to every one, you know your job, lets do our job. i'm easy to get along with BUT don't cross the line and get stupid, because then I become a bitch !

I agree with knifelady....we all are grown ups here....come in to work, do your job, and go home....if i need to hold your hand then you should go up front and be a bag boy.....we know what we have to do, lets GIT R DONE!!!!

MANAGEMENT BY EXAMPLE.

With that said.all employees work different,One employee strenght might be another's weekness.
I use thier strentghs to get the job done.every worker will do only what they think they need to do.

when i train people ,if they do not like doing something,or they say they are not good at something.You take that weakness and make it a positive.This person will appreciate the knowledge
they have learned,along with being a little more confident in themselves.this will go along way.

I keep talking but actually I am one of those who says :

Do not tell me what you can do.
SHOW ME WHAT YOU CAN DO!

A lot of great responses here.  When I was very young  and a rookie manager I was much more hard nosed than in my later years. You get to learn what works over all and what works and does not work with individuals. Once I left the Independents and started managing for a large chain I had to learn even more. There is almost NO getting rid of someone so you either learn how to get the most out of each employee or in the worst case where to put them, what jobs to give them, where they would hurt your operation the least.  Still, I was a different person at work than home. I had to be hard nosed or I would get nothing out of my team. However there is a fine balance between being tough but fair, and being a dick.  I think I found that balance very well. I knew managers who didn't learn that lesson. Some had their ribs and face busted up, some had their cars destroyed, a couple were shot in the head.  It was a tough business but if you stuck up for your crew with management, stuck up for the company's position with your crew, maintained your integrity with everyone, you could be successful, make money for the company, yourself and your team.  It's also important to show that you are willing to do the same tasks you assign others, such as cleaning. It's important to demonstrate the WHY of a policy you are implementing, not just tell people to do it without a reason or because "I said so".  Passing along kudos to the team when justified is also sometime helpful, though often it does nothing to motivate the hard bitten veterans.

Yes I worked with a tough crowd. Even happened to one of our executives, 

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/07/cold_case_nearly_22_years_late.html

I also saw a store mgr thrown overboard out of the 2nd floor "crows nest" office when our paychecks were late and he refused to pay us cash once the 6 PM Friday deadline arrived. To be clear, I was there but I did not participate in that.

I probably could go on and on. I wouldn't want to go back to those days but back then it was just business, the world I knew.

Nowadays I often tell the engineers who work for me that they don't know what real work is; what we do is like going to school and getting paid for it!

I didn't know Mr. Wunderle. i think I met him once or twice but for the most part I only saw him on TV, and often, as he was the public face of my company.  Whenever there was a news story about food or supermarkets in the Phila. or NYC markets the TV stations would bring him on to speak to the issue. I heard rumors about the reason s for his demise but they are just rumors and I won 't speak to them or of them. 

butcher29 wrote:

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Where did u work jim compton?..lol


-- Edited by butcher29 on Saturday 12th of May 2012 04:28:27 AM

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 Philadelphhia.

Where's Compton?