Good managers and executives — and how to celebrate them

In “‘Evil’ managers and executives — and what to do about them,” a correspondent made this statement about bad managers: “Just cause you have not run into them does not mean they are not there. I have suffered under way too many. My sample of management says about 5 percent are competent, 10 percent are benign, and the rest are scumbags or worse.”

I received the following letter in response to it, and while the writer neither asked for nor needed any advice, I thought it was worth sharing as a more optimistic counterpoint.

– Bob

Dear Bob …

I do believe that there are companies that encourage “evil” managers — and there are companies that encourage and nurture good ones.

In one company I worked for, having 8-10 employee lawsuits ongoing was considered part of doing business. Executives could do no wrong, and managers were expected to support executives without question. They had a pretty high proportion of “evil” managers — maybe even to the level your original manager described. They pay for it too; local companies will question anyone with more than a year at that place on their resume. However, if you were only there for six weeks, it is accepted without comment. One hiring manager told me that everyone has worked for that place for a month and left.

However, few companies are that bad.

I have had the great pleasure of working for a number of companies that have had me working for managers I (and others who work for them) consider to be first rate. They are honestly concerned for the people who work for them, and it shows in a lot of different ways.

The manager I work for now has always shown great loyalty to her people, and she tends to be concerned about making sure that everyone is treated fairly and responsibly — and clearly understands that it does not mean treating us all the same. She is a good leader, a good friend, and a responsible person. She is generous and public with credit, but discrete about blame.

The company I work for lives with the consequences of her presence: All of the people who work for her think long and hard before considering moving on to another position. We can get more money somewhere else, but will we be able to be home when our families need us, and will we find the job as enjoyable?

We trust our company and do what we need to do to make it successful — without having to worry about getting stabbed in the back or forgotten. We are a lot more concerned about making the team successful and supporting each other than we are about politics. We take a lot of pride in doing a tough job and doing it well.

The only fly in the ointment is that the company keeps promoting our manager, increasing the number of people who work for her and the scope of her responsibilities.

I can’t imagine why they would do something like that …

– Working in a great company

Bob’s last word: As I said in another post (“Prospective employees: Select your employer as they would select you“), companies fall into a bell curve with respect to their desirability as employers. The best can be choosy about who they hire — and the best employees can be just as choosy when deciding who to work for. Among the motivations for doing everything you can to be among the best: You get to work for one of the great companies.