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I’ve been Department (Sales and Service) Manager or Branch (General) Manager for a service provider (a big pest control company) for the last ten years.  With my preceding 17 years on the sales-side of the equation for other industries, a decade is also the longest I’ve worked for a single employer.

Until three years ago, I would have called myself a “pretty good” manager. That’s when I began learning that aspects of “my style” made me less effective, like office staff that were afraid of my bark and “managing by checklist,” which translated into nit-picking to my reports.

Because I’ve been effective as a “turn around” manager (fixing broken operations), I have served SEVEN different branches in my TEN years.  What that really means is that I moved on once an operation was fixed and before my “style” caused new issues to develop!

Company-provided training, in my experience, always focuses on their forms and policies or their sales processes.  No company for whom I've worked has spent money developing their managers’ ability to lead and manage effectively.