Be That Change

I recently wrote a  letter to a former manager.  His response was inspiring to me and I wanted to share it.

To share this letter,  I will not use the letter in its entirety nor any real names of people/companies.  The point of this is show you that you can be your own change and hopefully inspire:

My letter:

Dear [manager], 

I just wanted to say that in the short time we worked together, you made a huge impact on my life.  I can't say that about many people.  

I had a manager [let's call him Abraham (after my favorite President)], when I was [high school age] and I was working at [company A].

"Abraham" was a friend of the family but he was my boss first and he made the working environment fun, friendly, and inviting.  It was the type of job that you were happy to go to everyday, it was the type of job that you pulled 16 hour shifts for during high volume times and it was the type of job that I wanted forever.

It wasn't "real life".  "Abraham" knew that he was mostly working with troublesome (high school age) employees, ones that called out all the time, were unreliable, or were just a nuisance in general, but because of the type of manager that "Abraham" was....we never called out, we were very reliable and we weren't a nuisance.....all the time. 

We had fun.

He let us be individuals and make our own decisions.  We pulled pranks on him and instead of yelling at us to get back to work, he would pull a harsher prank back.   His motto was, "if you can't have fun, don't come to work."

Why did I say it's not "real life"?  Coming out of college, the real world hits you.  Bills to pay, loans to pay off, "real" bosses to report to...unfortunately, "Abraham" spoiled all of us.  I came out of college and down to Maryland looking for that ideal image of a job. (Having fun, getting the work done, "messing" with my boss).

(What I found was the "norm" or what is considered to be the "norm" for Corporate environments.)

When management changes, things change.

Let's go back to "Abraham".   He managed [company A] for 10 years.  The company executives wanted a "change" in management.  I mean how dare he have 100% retention for 10 years, continued increased profitability for 10 years, 95+% customer satisfaction for 10 years.  No, they hated him.  They pushed him out.   They nit picked the tiniest details, and instead of getting into a confrontation, "Abraham" said maybe its time to move on, and he packed up his stuff and he left.   Shortly there after, his staff, 20 dedicated employees (myself included), walked out the door and didn't look back.   Of course this upset "Abraham" because for some of us, it was our livelihood and it wasn't the point he was hoping to make.

I don't typically condone that behavior, but what happened to "Abraham" was absolutely ridiculous.

The reason I mention this is because you have that impact on people.  Whether you know it or not, you do.  I didn't leave [company B] because you left.  Things started to change.  People started to change and it hit me hard.  

I am writing this letter  to let you know that you are my "Abraham."    I can only hope that someday our paths will cross again

His response:

My dear Erin,

You have no idea how you just made my day.   I am glad to know that we had a mutual admiration; you were always a joy to work with.   Talented, fun and lovely.  I am proud to be your "Abraham".  

I think we demonstrated every day at [company B], how we can still care about each other, enjoy each other’s company and still get work done.   I have always believed that if you genuinely cared about others and their well-being, more and better work will be done.    

Erin, don’t underestimate the role you play in creating "Abraham's".  You have the power to drive culture and establish an environment that is right for everyone.  You will be surprised how contagious kindness can be.    

Thank you for your note.  

I hope you continue to stay in touch.  

You are special.

[manager]