the link is a business management column written by Tom Wall, president of Dairy Interactive, LLC and Language Links, LLC for owners and managers within the dairy industry. Tom’s Wall is your link to these free weekly reflections on employee management, leadership and life.
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| The Rest of the Story |
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| Written by Tom Wall |
| Tuesday, 27 July 2010 06:35 |
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Until only a few years ago, one of the highlights of being around a radio during the noon hour was hearing a warm and friendly voice say, “Hello Americans, I’m Paul Harvey.” Paul Harvey, a radio legend who passed away a little over a year ago, would report the day’s news and share interesting stories about the lives of famous and accomplished people as well as funny, hard-to-believe tales of people you’ve never heard of. And without a doubt, it was his “Rest of the Story” that Harvey’s avid listeners looked forward to each day. This past week, we witnessed how the “rest of the story” ultimately redeemed some controversial comments made by ex-USDA official Shirley Sherrod. In the original video footage, she can be seen making some alarming, racially-charged comments. Upon the release of this footage, the White House and the USDA swiftly forced her resignation from the department as a result of her comments. However, it turns out the video that was initially circulating on the internet had been unfairly edited to showcase racist remarks and didn’t truly capture her full message or the context in which she intended them. Nonetheless, the White House acted first and then asked questions later. Unfortunately, a lot of people rush to judgment when it comes to managing relationships at work and at home. Sure, sometimes we’re on the receiving end of knee-jerk reactions, but more often we’re the ones who make them. Let’s admit it; everyone’s been guilty of making hasty decisions before gathering enough information that would lead to the right conclusion. Or maybe you’ve been known to go into a situation with a preconceived opinion of what probably happened and you allow it to influence your decision, regardless of what the truth may be. Now I’m not saying you have to hear everyone’s excuse-laden story as to what, why, or how something occurred. Many times, the reason something happened really doesn’t even matter. In all reality, it’s the end result of these actions and the outcome that speaks for itself. For example, when someone doesn’t show up for work and also neglects to call in, there’s usually no good reason for it. Other times, you struggle to discover the truth of a situation and you’re forced to call upon past experience and simply listen to your gut. But when it comes to resolving issues between two people, you’re most likely going to hear a couple of ‘filtered’, varying accounts of the truth. And as you’ve probably already experienced, it seems that most people have their own personal agenda when it comes to telling their side of the story. As a leader, it’s your job to sort out what’s true and relevant and what’s not. From there, all you can hope to do is make the best decision for everyone involved. So what should you do to get to the closest version of the truth? Ask more questions; find out what really happened. And that doesn’t only pertain to making decisions regarding your people and their status with your company. Every time you face decisions that could change the daily operations and overall success of your dairy, take the time to get all the facts. Before coming to a conclusion that casts doubt upon your judgment and costs someone their job, ask the right questions and find out the “rest of the story”.
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