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Pete, I agree with you.

Sean, a good leader has to be a good follower. This includes not trashing the upper management in front of the workers. That sort of trashing can be done by snapping pencils in two and smashing your head against the wall while nobody is looking...

A good manager will praise in public and reprimand in private.

A good manager should be consistant, firm, and fair when dealing with their subordinates.

A good manager will let their subordinates know exactly where they stand at all times.

If a subordinate proves a decision is wrong, a good manager will not try to dig up half-assed excuses to cover up mistakes. Nobody is perfect.

A good manager will not be afraid to apologize if it is known they made an incorrect decision.

A good manager will listen to their subordinate's suggestions. If they have a good well thought out suggestion that will help achieve the overall objective, a good manager will try to implement them if possible, and give credit to the person that made the suggestion.

A good manager will never take the credit that belongs to another person.

A good manager will give credit where credit is due.

A good manager will always treat their subordinates exactly the same way they would like to be treated under the exact existing identical circumstances.

A good manager will set an example for others to follow.

As Pete suggested, a good manager will not go on a power trip or an ego trip.

These are just a few things I have learned through the years.

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Absolutely sets down a policy that is followed and enforced at all times, by employees and manager alike.

A good manager does not get personally close to his employees. There must be a professional distance between them. If an employee gets the idea that they are now buddies, they will tend to slack off believing that they will get preferential treatment. This tends to make the other employees feel they can not bother with thier job as well.

No freebies given to just friends of managers, but not friends of employees. This goes back to Iron Fist Management. Set a policy in place and everyone follows it.

Fairness is also the key, regardless of one's management "style". Of course, be firm, but be fair.

Flexibility is also necessary. You never want to see the manager paint onesself into a corner. Are there ever exceptions to a rule? You bet!

Above all, delegate responsibility to others. I feel one of the worst faults is the tendency to "micromanage". If there are assistants who excell in their particular area (concession, floor, projection), let them take the ball and run with it and stay the hell out of the way. If on the other hand, an assistant is struggling, you will have to stay on top of the situation, but that's not micromanaging.

Know when to cut your losses when it comes to bad employees. You are running a business, not a rehabilitation center. When an employee starts to "go South" remember( in the words of our Managing Director) that it doesn't get better, because it doesn't. Cut 'um loose.

Reward those who are doing a good job, even if it is just a compliment. People will work harder when they know they are appreciated.

Finally. at least listen to what other people have to say, even if they don't appear to know what they are talking about. Nobody ever learned anything with their mouth open, as the old saying goes.

"A good manager rules with an iron fist."

The Iron Fist technique is called "Mission Management", and it is good for short range goals only. But it sucks for long-term goals. Even the military has gotten away from that technique for the most part 30 years ago. They want to keep their personnel.

Mission Management works well in a crisis situation. Sometimes that style of management is required, but other times it can get in your way. I tend to stay away from that style of management unless I have no other choice. Mission management is like a dictatorship. Sometimes it is needed, but most of the time it is not.

What the military and corporates are looking for these days is "Middle Management", namely the ones who can swing from Mission Management to People-orentated Management as the situation calls for.

People-orientated Management is good for long-range goals.

However, I fully agree with Dave's statement, "A good manager does not get personally close to his employees. There must be a professional distance between them. If an employee gets the idea that they are now buddies, they will tend to slack off believing that they will get preferential treatment. This tends to make the other employees feel they can not bother with thier job as well."

I also agree 100% with Dave's statement, "No freebies given to just friends of managers, but not friends of employees."

Dave, that is not "Iron Fist Management." It is called "People-orientated Management." It is being consistant, impartial, firm, and fair when dealing with ALL subordinates and superiors.

Thank you.

I must agree with everything said on this thread, except for Dave's recommendation of the Naziesque "Iron Fist" management. That simply does NOT work. Employees hate those kind of managers and they will not stick around for any length of time. In fact, if you anger them enough with that sort of nonsense, you might find your personal life will be affected, for many employees when pushed too hard may start "getting you back" for being an A-hole to them. I've seen managers like this have their cars broken in to, tires slashed, personal items they brought to the theater stolen and even things done to their house if the employees figure out where the manager lives! Please don't do that. Be a professional. Those are REAL PEOPLE who are working under you, not doggie turds. Treat them that way.

"Do unto others as you would like them to do to you."

*or*

"Screw unto others as you would like them to do to you."

It goes one way or the other, you can't have both.

One question for Sean. Are you "Sean" to your employees, or are you "Mr. McKinnon"? A word of advice, even though I will probably get flamed for it from the hard-ass managers on this board...drop the Mr. McKinnon. Go by Sean. Have your fellow managers call you Sean. Introduce yourself to employees as Sean. Specifically tell your employees that your name is Sean and let them know that ALL of you are there as a TEAM to run that theater and that you are no better than anyone else there, you are just the one directing the operation. You will be AMAZED at how far this one little thing will go! Nobody likes to be bossed around, and every time your employees have to address someone higher than them as "Mr." reminds them they are the low man on the totem pole and kills a bit of morality. Forced respect will get you nowhere. Respect must be earned.

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Never ask or tell someone to do something you yourself would not do.

David, as we know some corporations have the "Mister, Ms, or Mrs." protocol in place. I think that is OK, but I also think it should be left up to the individual as how they want to be addressed. If that individual insists that corporate protocol is used, I will just forget about using the protocol and their name altogether.

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