I used to (like many) think poorly of management, they seemed to not hold the teams interest to heart, never follow through with suggestions and always seem to be doing nothing important.
I took my first senior manager position i vowed to be different.

One of the first things I did was to pull the team into a meeting to discuss the way forwards, to take their ideas with mine , to improve the situation for the whole team.
This was revolutionary for the company, the management team where being whipped for getting product out of the door , and cutting costs. I quickly learnt that trying to improve anything was done on the managers own time and without a budget, and if you failed it went against you.

In the meeting, noone wanted to suggest anything, i pointed out a couple of the gripes I knew was bothering them and it was met with “no its fine.” And “we don’t want it changed.”

So I talked about how the business is performing and what are the important areas to focus on. A little but about the company’s plans. (This was to let them feel a bit more included into information not normally shared and kept behind closed doors.)

No one was listening.

Lastly I shared the things i was working on and plans I had, how the team supporting my role as I supported my boss.

Again no interest.

I called the meeting to a close, no-one wanted to talk to me about what was bothering them nor give any suggestions. When I tried to include them , they didn’t care and when I explained more about how my role would work they wouldnt listen.

I started on fixing some of the bigger issues that faced the company, I reminded the team to focus on the things I just told them to focus on, and continued with my day to day.

I held a few more sessions like the first , again open honest communication with emphasis on two way dialog. Nothing back.

The time came round for my (anonymous) team feedback.

The top negatives where, didn’t focus on the things that affected them, didn’t communicate and wasn’t around enough.

I realised that before you criticise someone you work for, think about how you are helping them, help you. And if you are not pulling in the same direction as your boss, he isn’t going to spend a load of his time making your life easy.

My dad got a call on his work phone. It started out as a typical scam automated message: “your Social Security number has been suspended, please press 1 now.” My dad decides to have a little fun and presses 1. A man with a very thick Indian accent answers.

Scammer: Social Security Administration
Dad: You’re a liar.
Scammer: Yes I am. *hangs up*

I work in a zoo before the Covid. This happened before we closed temporarily. I am showing a crowd of people a new lion cub called Nala. At the end of the lecture, we open the floor to questions.

Man: Yeah, do you guys have any black panthers?

Me: I’m afraid the only panthers we have is our mountain lion exhibit. Panthers really only come in brown.

Man: What about those black cats over by the pigs?

Me: Those are black leopards. Leopards can come in either black or they can have their regular coloring, but black leopards still have spots-

Man: What’s the panther’s name?

Coworker: I’m sorry, but this is a lecture on lions, not panthers. Please restrict all your questions to lions.

(When my uncle was in college, his mom bought him a smart pen. This pen would record notes written on special paper that you could view on the computer. It could also record the lectures, along with several other things, and was really useful for a college student. He offered it to me when I was a senior in high school taking several AP and concurrent enrollment college classes. Unfortunately, the pen was old and while it still worked, the display on the pen no longer turned on. I troubleshooted it like it said to on the website, and then emailed customer support.)
Me: Hello, my name is [My Name] and I have recently gotten a [brand] pen from my uncle. I love the product, but the display screen no longer works, and I was wondering if I could fix it.
Customer Support: Have you tried troubleshooting the pen? *they sent a link to the website I was using before*
Me: I tried all of that, so while the pen turns on, the display doesn’t
Customer support: Okay, we’re offering to replace your pen. Please give us your address and any proof of purchase you have
Me: My address is [address], but I did receive this pen from my uncle. He used it for about 8 years before giving it to me, so I don’t have any proof of purchase. I’m willing to buy another pen if I can’t fix this one.
Customer Support: That’s fine. The tracking number is [number].
(I did get a package with a brand new pen two days later! And that’s the story of how I might have accidentally scammed a business. I love this company and was sure to rate their customer service well on their surveys, and I still buy products from them for my college education and recommend their products to everyone.)

(My mother has always been somewhat jealous of my hair, which is the exact same color as hers but much thicker, and used to joke about cutting all of my hair off and gluing it onto her head instead. For a number of years I wore my hair quite long, but the maintenance was so bothersome that I got it chopped to shoulder-length.)

Mom: *walks up behind me and touches my hair before sighing*

Me: “You had your chance when I got it cut. Live with your own hair.”