Promotion and Responsibility

Staying at a hotel in CT, I noticed a blonde-haired woman dressed in a tidy grey suit excitedly given orders, recommendations and instructions at such a frantic pace, I hardly recognized her. Although I recalled her Boston accent and energetic manner, seeing her giving instructions (not recommendations) to other employees was strange. Usually playful and willing to bend and break rules for our group, the grey suit spelled out the end to that. With quick smile and "hello" she recognized me in the dining room in front of my laptop, but quickly reverted back to supervisor, warning one banquet employee that her hoops need to be changed.

I knew they had been asking her for months to take on more responsibility and a promotion to managing the banquet staff. This means she finally had given up resisting and had taken the opportunity. When she had finished with her troops, she welcomed me with her usual warm, inviting way and hugged me. She explained about her new position and said it was easier taking on the promotion than dealing with the hotel constantly asking her about taking it. After showing me her task list and confiding to me a few minor complaints, she was off again, cleaning this, arranging that and giving more instructions.

Responsibility is a mean deal. Personality traits that were endearing as a co-worker can be unbearable as a boss. Once, there was kinship between workers and a feeling of being in it together. After, the responsibility of management supercedes friendship and instead, the new supervisor becomes the enemy. Workers choose not to complain about work details in front of their new boss and a wedge begins to grow in the place of their former working friendship.

I saw the beginnings of that today. Some of the other members of the hotel staff were already motioning away from her view how crazy their new boss (old friend) is, frantic about getting everything accomplished under her watch. Before, when things did not get accomplished or they got accomplished in a way that was not correct, the blame was spread out among several members of the staff. With a manager in place of the banquet staff, blame is now fixed on one individual. Therefore, the shared responsibility becomes the responsibility of one.

The new boss must be able to conduct his/her workers in a effective manner to make sure things get done right. Whether or not they are successful is determined by how well they can get workers to accomplish customer and management's needs and requests along company guidelines. Good luck to my friend, and I hope that her allegiance to co-workers does not cloud her better judgment getting tasks completed or that her new promotion doesn't force her to forget how it was on the banquet staff.