“I” in Management?

Not sure when Merriam-Webster changed the spelling of the word, ‘management‘ to include the letter ‘I‘ but I have taken note and will make no further mistake when I spell it. I bring this word up because this is something our company lacks, especially at our station. Now that I have worked at two major West Coast stations I can say it is a company thing and not a station thing. Not sure why either. Unfortunately management at this levels sucks! It sucks because unlike managers being team players, they are only out for themselves. I saw it in Los Angeles and seeing it again in San Francisco.

There was a time in my current tenure at this company where I thought I would make a good manager because I knew how to run an efficient operation. Unfortunately, as company politics go, the system bucked me for an “empty skirt.” Now I don’t want women to take offense to this term. Some of the best people I have worked for in the past have been women, but that is not the case now at my current company. Never has been.

I arrived in San Francisco with a “clean slate” and a handful of opportunities, or so I thought. I had a good, clean record, was dependable and was hoping to better my position with a chance to be a manager. I was coached and prepped for the interview, which I successfully passed. This was a big step in my “professional development” or so I thought. I found out after the fact that one of the two positions was given to an “empty skirt” because upper management wanted a woman in the position. *shakes head* The other position was given to a guy, from the Midwest. I was told I was not offered the position because no one at the station knew me. Yet, they knew an unknown from Denver? Figure that out.

So this “empty skirt” spent a minimum amount of time at this position and was already considered a “corporate darling” and destined for bigger things. Remember I talked about the inner circle at my company, who is in and who is out? So she spent her time and the company CREATED a higher management position for her. Just freaking crazy! Needless to say, she was replaced with another “empty skirt” who was another darling looking to move through this position, get her operational experience and move on.

As politics go, this just happened. She is moving into that “created” position the previous manager took. I guess this is a logical move up the corporate ladder. So that leaves an open manager position in our department. I said this about 8 months ago, but I believe they are leaving this position open as a developmental position and will shuffle those “corporate darlings” through this position to get their required operational experience and move them onto another manager position. I guarantee it will be another “empty skirt” to fill the void by the middle of September.

Until the day I resign, I will never figure out why this company operates the way it does. There was no bigger supporter of this company then myself when I started. It is unfortunate, but the company has run some very good people out the door, people who really could have made a difference. Not saying I could make a difference if I were in a manager position, but there was a time I was a “team player” and did care, unfortunately with the way local management works, its all one can do to smile when you walk through the door.