I discovered a very nice blog titled Leadership From the Heart really summed up the Qualities and excellent manager would possess. While "management" technique is subjective and approaches highly personal, today's blog is in tribute to one of my favorite managers of all time! As part of my honoring what has helped make me the way I am, I would be remiss if I let this moment and this day pass without a tribute to the influence Rob Ghielen!

Being too quick to judge or define character is a challenge of human nature, and I would have been wrong in leaning on my first assumptions. Environment, personality and dynamic can cloud your view. Being too busy, feeling too constrained, too whatever can get in the way of more productive alternatives. I have long challenged myself to address my Type A, Workaholic Personality. While stubbornness is the extreme of persistence, intellect is the refinement of practice, and over the decade that I have known him, known have inspired me to grow and challenge me as much as Rob Ghielen.

WHY MY FIRST IMPRESSION WAS SPOT OFF!

Rob moved to the U.S. to help us ramp up our U.S. Help Desk. At the time we had been through a quantum change, moving our operations cross country with a small percentage of overworked staff, average call hold times through the roof, and if every agent worked like the few of us on the queues did, we would never manage the volume, but would burn out fast. But that was MY perspective when Rob came in. He would talk to each of us individually, cycle around, most of all he listened. He listened to me talk about how urgent our problems were-- we were failing to even deliver fundamental service, we were overtired, overworked, underpaid, and overtaxed. We had moved cross country, we did not know anyone, and the folks that did know were leaving. We had to fill mighty shoes and we could not even get above the incoming volume.

Rob was great at listening, but gosh I don't need a therapist, I am not imagining this volume. I need a manager. We don't like talking about the problems, we like solving them. Or at least those of us on the front line service management did.

I was wrong about Rob. I thought he was just listening listening listening. He made us feel heard, even appreciated immediately, but it has been 10 days, 20 days, I think somewhere around 40 days he called us in for a vision and mission session. It blew us away. In that short time, he had assessed his entire team, the operational flow, the resource capacity, and the process improvements necessary. He had produced a strategy for our sanity, and a strawman of how were were going to get there. Then delivered the inspiration, the vision and the target-- suddenly our workloads seemed less of a problem and this new vision was something we all desired.

PERSPECTIVE SETS IN

He moved cross the world, not cross country, he asked those with "inside information" to allow him a bit of time to form his own observations, and then he wanted to get theirs. When considering how much he had also experienced change, his productivity, his staff's productivity, and our improved reputation was due to this approach based upon a solid work ethic, doing the right things, at the right time, with the right level of transparency. Letting people know they probably have mmore in them then they give themselves credit for, and finding the right way to help them discover that.

HOW HE DID IT WELL:

I have spent a bit of time learning of the legacy of his approach. Within about 6-9 months, our call volume was improved our ticket volume manageable, we were staffed, resourced and growing. Our customers valued us, because he valued us. He expected great things of his staff, and because he expected it, articulated it, and measured the tangible steps taken, we were successful.

Here is in bullet form what I have seen, heard, and appreciated about my formmer manager, and current Friend Rob Ghielen:

* Observing without judgement lets you see what is otherwise organic garbage.
* Time and listening to all sides helps you form a better plan.
* Calm and rational thought probably lets you live longer.
* Prioritize and deliver for your best results, to do great things, you must choose to reprioritize and focus output.
* Dreate a right vision--one that depicts where you are, where you can be, but mostly why we can and must do it.
* Process and quality takes time, focus, attention and resolve-- tough but friendly.
* We can accomplish more than we think if we let our natural self get out of the way and a team to gel with its own personality.

Rob, you are a great manager and person with depth. Well read and balanced. I appreciate the opportunities and vision. Thank you for the opportunities, the challenges, and the freedom to make mistakes, to learn, and to grow wings. I appreciate where you took us. You embody what makes Sun Great-- Innovation, Learning, Growing, Delivering Results that Matter. Thank you for believing in me, and having a greater vision for all of us, than we had for ourselves! A great adventure and I am thankful to have known you on this path!

Rob Ghielen