James M. Berklan

I suppose it’s just human nature, but I bet that most times people read advice articles, they’re inferring that it’s good advice for someone else. 

We’ve all done it: nodding our heads while skimming through an article — on how to lose weight, how to be more productive, how to manage better, etc. Hope that other guy does well with it.

That’s why I am so intrigued by the “Reader Poll” department each month in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. These are unavoidable answers to “man/woman-on-the-street” interviews that come fresh and unfiltered from your peers. Many times they interpret a question in an entirely different light than we might have intended. No problem. We let the answers fly.

It’s all candid and that’s good, especially in our next issue. That’s where readers tell us what their managers do that is truly helpful.

Terry Rogers, John Hicks, Rebecca Smith, Tony Fountain, Gretchen Brown, Bobby Meadows, Reed Feuster. There is no way they could all know one another. But they share at least one common trait: Their employees think so much of them, they speak openly about what makes these people good managers. These leaders were not nearby and in no way could have coerced answers.

Some of the qualities discussed might not be so surprising. Others could be.

Having a true “open door” policy. Taking pesky side work off a sub-managers’ hands. Generosity. Showing appreciation. 

You can read the full Reader Poll answers on page 50 in the April issue yourself, but the point is, these are real managers making a real impact on their employees. This isn’t mere theory or a chapter in a management textbook. These are actual long-term care leaders who don’t know they are being praised in a national long-term care magazine. (Well, not until now at least.)

They’re doing what they think they need to do, and it’s working.

Their employees notice.

All of us would do well to notice. And act on what we read, not just nod our heads in agreement and move on.

Follow James M. Berklan @JimBerklan.