I have been a professional manager all my life, and it is a very demanding and stressful job. You are between a rock and a hard place every day. From one side, you need to run a business efficiently and smoothly. On the other hand, you must deal with employees' personalities and personal problems. Originally I am from the old Soviet Union, and in my home country manager should be demanding and always in control. When a manager compromises on something with his subordinates, this signifies the weakness of an authoritarian management style. It mirrors how authorities run the whole country. Many years ago, I found a job at Dunkin Donuts. It was my first job in America, and I worked hard.
In about a year or so, I became a store manager. Of course, I knew only one style of management. I became a control freak and confronted my subordinates about anything I considered a violation of Dunkin Donuts standards. Plus, I tried to purge a system of thievery in my store. I started to suspect some people of manipulations with money in cash registers. I considered this very personal and tried to catch those people as soon as possible. I even asked the owner to install security cameras in my store and personally watch tapes from security cameras. It was a disaster. The owner once set me down and talked. He asked me to stop being a control freak and a manager. I couldn't understand what he meant. I told him how hard I work to manage a store. He said my employees constantly complained to him and would let me go. I was devastated. How could that be? I worked so hard. In whole honesty, I was furious. It was difficult for me to comprehend. I thought nobody appreciated me in Dunkin Donuts and decided to find another job.
My next job was in a national chain of buffet-style restaurants, a so-called all-you-can-eat buffet. You can guess what happened there. I was fired. Once again, I controlled employees and did everything according to the company's standards, but many employees complained about my management style. The final drop was when I accused a cashier of stealing money. I miscounted money. On the following day, the company fired me. I became bitter and deeply depressed. I told my family and friends that the company fired me because I was an immigrant. Long story short, I decided I needed to open my own business. Also, I took courses in Management and Entrepreneurship. Since then, I have run a successful courier business. Many of my employees stay with me for years.
Recently, I've had an experience in my local Walgreens. I couldn't find an item and asked for help. The guy whom I asked for help was stocking shelves. He told me where I could see this thing but didn't try to show me exactly where. I couldn't find it. Then, I asked another employee for assistance. He couldn't help me because he didn't know and sent me to a different area. After walking around a store couple of times, I finally found an item. I asked an employee who didn't know for a manager because I felt neglected. Nobody could help me to find my thing. Suddenly, the guy who stalked the shelves came and started an argument that it was my fault that I couldn't find it and that I was harassing his fellow employee with my request to call for a manager. Unbelievable. The first employee ignored me, but the second one misled me further. On top of it, employees started an unnecessary argument with me, which is unacceptable by any standards. As a professional manager, I could see what was wrong with that particular Walgreens. Complete lack of management. I know that in a post-pandemic era, with many gig jobs, finding more or less reliable employees is challenging. That particular store was understaffed, but a complete lack of customer service is a big deal. That shows that store managers don't know how to train employees in dealing with customers. First, I will never shop at this Walgreens again; second, I wrote a bad review about my experience on Google. It is the second example of a terrible management style.
Another mistake, in my opinion, is when a manager tries to be too friendly with employees and talks about personal or business problems.
What is the solution? First, a manager should have hands-on knowledge of how to work in all positions in the company. Second, a manager should be a coach and teacher rather than an authoritarian. Third, a manager shouldn't be afraid to make unpopular decisions. Fourth, a manager should know the strengths and weaknesses of subordinates and assign each employee to the job where an employee's performance will be the most beneficial to the company. Finally, a manager should be a leader and be able to find a solution to complete a business task or during an operational crisis effectively.
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