Faith at Work Steve Swanson
Who’s the Boss?
Perfection isn’t required of a boss but authenticity is In 2003 actor Russell Crowe starred in a movie called Master and Commander. Here’s the story line from IMDb. com: During the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America. In the process of thinking about bosses, this movie title came to mind – “Master and Commander.” You likely aren’t working on the high seas, but does that title de-
scribe your boss (or you)? Here is a short list of the kinds of bosses I’ve worked for: I talk, you listen. When the boss spoke, we jumped. There was no dialogue or questions. You had a specific job and did as you were told. You saw the boss when he handed out the paychecks on payday. Not very often otherwise. Very little interaction. I talk, you follow. This boss was a little more engaged with those who worked for him. Not much was offered in the way of personal interaction, but you saw him a few times during the week. Most interaction consisted of being reminded what the rules were and the consequences for not following them. I am with you. This boss was a team leader. Definitely an encourager and great at putting the spotlight on the accomplishments of others. You knew you mattered to the company and were reminded of the power of team. (Together Everyone Accomplishes More). We’re on a mission. This boss often reminded us that we were called to serve together. We’re each playing an important role and doing things that matter
and make a difference. The boss had a leadership role but worked shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the team members while modeling his expectations. No doubt there are a multitude of combinations of these bosses and their various characteristics. Perhaps I’ve reminded you of a boss you’ve worked for? Or maybe you, if that is your role. National Bosses Day happened last month. One comment from a card I received said this: “Look on the bright side. You could have been a cat herder.” Another said, “With all the strange folks working here, all I can say is… Happy Bosses Day!” Pretty special, don’t you think? What kind of boss are you? My small team is passionate about what we do, which makes an incredible difference. I believe I’m striving to do a better job of daily leading my team. Here are a couple of reminders for you as you strive to be “the boss.” • It’s nearly impossible to over communicate • Assumption is the lowest form of communication • Follow up and follow through • There is a good reason the good
Lord gave us two ears and one mouth. It’s visual reminder! • Management by “walking around” is still a good idea. Most of your folks won’t come to you. • The brush is in your hand to paint the vision for your team • Praise in public, criticize in private • Learn to delegate, then teach others to do the same • Keep the big picture in mind • Take time to celebrate your successes and learn from your mistakes. • Your role is not just to tell others what to do, it’s to model the behavior you want to see. I am sure the folks you work with don’t expect you to be perfect, but they do want you to be authentic. Strive for consistency. Pray for those your team. Genuinely care about them. Trust God for great things and believe the best is yet to come!
Undoubtedly, every philanthropic organization shares this angst as the endof-the-year giving season approaches. While political candidates are hosing up money like a Dyson, charities can find themselves scrambling for preholiday leftovers. The not-so-secret weapon for nonprofits, though, is tax deductibility. While in general, donors don’t typically make decisions to give to charities based on tax implications, we do know that’s a bigger factor at the end of the year. Charities, wisely, remind potential donors that their time is running out if they’re looking for next year’s tax deduction. And political donations aren’t tax-deductible. With the local elections (and lin-
gering runoffs) now mostly (and thankfully) behind us for this year, non-profits such as Goodwill are all hoping they’ll now be able to get donors’ attention. They may not be able to promise to fix potholes, but they can certainly offer to fix unemployment rates by providing transformative services to local communities through wise use of donations that translate into jobs. Those dollars might not send someone to Washington, but they could send someone to work.
Steve Swanson serves as the station manager for Family Friendly 88.3 WAFJ. He’s invested 30-plus years in the world of radio and was named the Christian Music Broadcasters Program Director of the Year in 2009 and 2011. He and his wife , Susie, live in North Augusta.
Business Observations Barry Paschal
Money for Something Non-profits make better use of donations than politicians do Our community has recently endured the election process, with a variety of elections (and runoffs) filling our mailboxes with postcards, flooding our airwaves with ads and cluttering our roadsides with signs. It’s a lot of… stuff. Where does it all come from? Not from magical political fairies, that’s for sure, though the way those yard signs pop up like mushrooms you might think so. These attention-grabbing appeals come from marketing companies, hired by candidates to smooth their rough edges and sharpen their messages. They don’t work for free, obviously; their funding comes from donations received by the candidates and, in many cases, from the hopefuls themselves. For example, in the recent local Georgia House race, one wealthy candidate kicked in nearly $100,000 of his
26 Buzz on Biz Nov. 19-Dec. 16, 2015
own money – and then barely made it into third place. Ouch. There is a lot of money involved in campaigns. The Center for Responsive Politics reports that the two major national parties have already spent more than $300 million in the 2016 election cycle. And in case you haven’t noticed, it’s still 2015. Naturally, local elections don’t have quite that much money invested in them. Candidates don’t have to buy time on national media; they can get plenty of attention from yard signs and knocking on doors. It’s a wildly different story for presidential candidates, who have to raise massive amounts of money to support their campaign apparatus alone. Heck, even “candidate-of-the-poorman” Bernie Sanders, an avowed socialist, recently held a Hollywood fundraiser costing attendees $150,000 each. That’s more than most candidates spend in a local race – combined. As a former political commentator, I get it. Most people run for office in the belief that their voice will contribute to the improvement of their community, their state, or their country. Donors give money to them either because they share the candidate’s beliefs, or in hopes of ensuring access to the candidate after the election. Even so, it’s downright painful to know the good that all that money could do if used for other purposes.
Barry L. Paschal is Senior Director of Marketing and Communications for Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the CSRA, parent organization of Helms College at www.helms.edu.