RELENTLESS RADIO

 

Author:	Therese Romano
Published:	April, 2000

 

We've all heard the old adage, a male boss who's tough is a respected leader, but a woman who is tough is a witch. I'm currently struggling with the balance between being tough enough to do the job correctly while not losing my compassionate side. As a program director, I understand that it's my job to shape the sound and presentation of our radio station. But, is it necessary to be heartless while carrying out my assigned tasks? Does an unrelenting heavy hand go with the job? I believe that one of my gifts is compassion. How do I empathize with the plight of my staff and still get through to them the importance of doing their job to the absolute best of their abilities? Some days I can deal with anything that comes my way with calm nerves and clear direction. But there are those days when I wonder, "How in the world I got here and who can I fire to make my job easier?" On the days when things look their worst, I've learned to turn to friends and colleagues who I respect for the ways they manage their staffs. So, that's what I did with this struggle. I contacted 3 women I know who all hold management positions but come from very different backgrounds. The first is the Vice President of Marketing for the record label Pamplin Music. Jenny Lockwald has been with the company 2 years. She moved to Portland from Nashville in 1998 after dissolving Bleau Sky Entertainment, a company she formed after leaving a 12-year stint at Sparrow Records. She's managed departments as small as one and as big as 30 people. Ms. Lockwald admits she's struggled with the ability to confront over the years. "It's not easy. I hate to confront when there's a problem. But the more I manage people and the older I get, I realize it just has to be done." Jenny's come to realize that she's "got to deal with it or it will affect the company". "It can't be about how I personally feel about the employee, if it effects the company, you can't sit back and do nothing." So, how does Lockwald confront when it's necessary? "Over the years my approach has changed dramatically. I used to put off confronting a problem and not deal with it as quickly as I should. In most cases, I'd put it off too long." Today, she faces each problem differently. For example, "If I'm angry, I mean really angry about something, I don't confront until I cool down. Cooling down may take a couple of weeks but I don't let it just slip away. The last thing I want to do is speak while I'm angry because, more than likely, I'll say words that I'll regret." Jenny says her goal is to never have to discuss a problem issue with an employee more than once. She takes the time to lay out exactly what she expects and the possible repercussions if an employee doesn't rectify the problem area or areas. The second woman I spoke with about managing a staff is Denise Harper. Ms. Harper is the General Manager of WXPZ, Light FM a Christian music radio station in Milford, Delaware. Denise's background is on the programming end of things. But, making the transition to the budget intensive position of GM was not as difficult as most would assume. She was Operations Manger for 6 years prior to the jump up to GM. Denise also still handles the Programming duties, selects the music they play, does an on-air shift and even handles some of their sales clients. She oversees a staff of 20 employees, 11 of which are on the payroll full-time. Before coming to the station 9 years ago, she had no prior radio experience. Harper had been the spokesperson for several traveling singing groups so her experience was on the other side of the microphone. I asked Denise how in the world she gets everything done. She admits that sometimes there are just not enough hours in the day. But, "I try to hire folks who know what they're doing and then empower them to do their job." Just like Lockwald, Harper says she tries not to be a control freak. Denise feels the need to pursue excellence and encourage her staff to do likewise. Sometimes the urge to "control" is overwhelming, especially if a staff member doesn't have the same basic work ethic. Harper believes that as a Christian she's called to do the best job possible and then some. Not everyone feels the same about the job. When it comes to confronting her employees about their work ethic or any other problem, she tends to go the extra mile and give them every chance. However, "Some people take advantage of the fact that it's a Christian work environment and don't always do the best they can because they have the attitude that 'Hey, it's just Christian radio'". Harper feels the complete opposite is true. Because it IS Christian radio, a higher standard is set and we need to work harder. Denise also mirrors Lockwald in her approach to confrontation. She quoted a line from the movie "You've Got Mail" to get her point across. "It's not personal, it's business." When confronting an employee, Harper usually starts with a word of praise, "I like what you do with 'this' but you need improvement in 'that' area." She then gives them input on how to go about improving in the problem area and sets a definite re-evaluation date. That way, an employee knows exactly what's expected of them and when. Denise says as hard as it is to confront problems she realizes its importance. "I hate confronting. But, I know that it's important. If I don't deal with the one person now, eventually, I'll have to deal with everyone." And finally I had the opportunity to speak with a woman who is running 4, soon to be 5, radio stations for Salem Broadcasting in Denver, Colorado. Carolyn Bernhardt is a General Manager who made her way up the ranks via sales. It'll be 5 years in August since Bernhardt left The Word In Music in Colorado Springs to head up Salem's radio interests in Denver. She oversees 30 employees, 27 are full-time. One of the big things Carolyn's learned over the years is to judge people by their abilities. Male or female employees can expect the same, fair treatment under her reign. "I try to be fair. That's all I've ever wanted from my bosses", says Bernhardt. Fairness is the theme when Carolyn needs to discipline her staff, too. If an employee's performance starts to falter "There's always the possibility that there are some special personal circumstances. I always give them a chance to speak up and tell me what's going on." Bernhardt continues, "The next step is to see if we can find a remedy together so the rest of the staff won't be affected." After all, a General Manager's first charge is managing the station as a whole. She says that to ensure that her stations thrive, there needs to be an honest look at whether the problem can be fixed or if a change needs to be made. Just as Lockwald and Harper said before her, Bernhardt emphasizes the need to look at the whole. "Growing the station is my role. If I let one person's problems affect the station, everyone on my staff is in jeopardy." Carolyn's learned to "deal with problems, or potential problems, quickly. An employee's attitude and motive is everything! If one of my staff makes periodic mistakes and learns from them, I can deal with that. But, if their attitude is one that reflects rebellion, that can spread to the whole staff. And I can't leave someone on my staff who's constantly messing up because it sets a bad standard." Bernhardt suggests that managers get to know their staff members. Let them know that you care about them. "My people know I care about them by my actions, like remembering their birthday, recognizing their employment anniversary and knowing their spouse's and children's names." By showing she knows them and cares about them, Carolyn believes that's what gives her permission to lead them. So, a quick summary of what these three successful managers have to say could be: "Don't sacrifice the whole for one piece of the puzzle". Or one bad apple could spoil the whole bunch. Be proactive. Nip it in the bud. Get the point? Nobody likes confrontation, except maybe a defense lawyer. Don't put off till tomorrow that which is better done today. If you're still struggling with the idea of confrontation, I suggest you practice. Being in management means you'll have to confront someone, sometime. If you want to remain in management prepare for every aspect, the good, the bad and the ugly.