Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

The first part of this article is aimed at management, including owners, managers, and supervisors. The last section is for employees, so before you yell too loud and long at what they are being told, wait for yourself.

I have always been an employee of someone else. While I have been in middle management and supervisory positions, I have never been the owner or top boss. I have had good and bad bosses. I have also seen good and bad employees. I believe there are many reasons for dissatisfaction in companies.

Failure of management to consider employees’ circumstances. My first job was at a fast-food drive-in. I was a fry cook. The owners demonstrated how a boss can be a mentor, friend, and second parent. They allowed me to be a shift manager as a high school student. They worked with all their student employees’ school schedules. We were required to tell them the dates we needed off as soon as we could.

Inability to admit that you made a mistake. This is a problem for employers, management, and employees. If you are tasked with correcting mistakes that are made, please confirm if the error is yours. If it is not, can you find time to point out the problem to the one that caused it without shaming? This is a major complaint. The boss calls out other’s mistakes but never mentions their own.

When I talk about shame, I mean bringing these mistakes up in a meeting with others. If a manager does not who caused an error, he should do his diligent research. There is usually a way to find out who worked on the project. Ask each participant what their assigned tasks were. Do not ask, “Did you make this error.” The answer will usually be no.

I’ve been the one blamed for problems when I was not even involved directly. I investigated and determined where the mistake was made and spoke directly with whoever needed the refresher course. Seldom was it necessary to take it to a higher authority. At times the offender would not admit responsibility. Those were the times I simply instructed multiple people on how to complete the task correctly. This solved the problem.

No one is perfect. We must all accept responsibility for our blunders. I once had a boss tell me I spent to long on a drive calculation I was doing for a salesman. They said a mistake would not kill anyone. When I told him what had been said he emphasized to me that it was for a manlift. A mistake could endanger someone.

©Copyright 2025 by Charles Kensinger