Ranting

I'm a pretty awesome boss. I'm super encouraging, give constant positive feedback. I push my staff to be creative, let their light shine, focus on their strengths. I genuinely care about their personal development and put a great deal of effort into professional guidance, as well as providing emotional support.

And despite the fact that sometimes I'm exhausted and don't want to deal with them, or I think they are being whinny, annoying or out of touch with the reality of what it means to be an employee, I am always very kind, patient and professional.

In exchange for being a rockin' boss, I expect that they are all going to do what they are supposed to do and limit the number of really dumb things they do to a minimum. And when they don't, I call my best friend X to vent and then take to my blog to rip them apart (completely anonymously of course).

Scene- 8:30pm. I'm on the way to supervise nighttime stuff.

Counselor K- "Can I talk to you about the July 31 in-service? I have a wedding that day and can't go."

me- "It's mandatory. What time is the wedding?"

K- "I'd need to leave the night before."

me- "Sorry, not possible."

The look on his face was something I would expect if I had personally insulted his grandmother or possibly made an inappropriate comment about kittens.

Operation Purple is a program that we have been accepted to for the second summer in a row. I realized recently that the money we take in from being part of the program is literally 1/5 of our operating budget. It is a SIGNIFICANT program- as in, saving this camp from closing, level of importance. Because of that, it is crucial that the week goes well. The activities, schedule, mission, everything is different. Also, because there are nearly twice the usual number of kids, it is important to prepare the staff for a high level of stress and exhaustion. The inservice is mandatory because I will be spending the day doing all of those things.

Before staff are hired, I mention that they need to be available for that week. If they are not, they don't get hired- it doesn't matter how wonderful they are.

When staff receive their new-hire paperwork packet, they receive a calendar of important dates, with that date clearly marked and also ***MANDATORY ALL STAFF IN SERVICE*** in bold.

At staff training, when we cover policies and handbook information, that date is covered in details. I also remind them a MILLION times to turn in their form with any dates they need off for the summer because, as I remind them, if they don't turn that in, they can't being it up later.

At the last mandatory all staff in service, we mentioned the July 31 date.

"I didn't know about it." -K

I have a pretty expressive face and sometimes lose control of it when I am surprised or annoyed, so I am sure that my face accurately conveyed, "like hell you didn't know." I patiently went over the list above, reminding him that I had mentioned it previously.

"I think it's unfair that Assistant Program Director A didn't have to come to the last mandatory in service." -K

LOL, do you think this is a democracy?!?! Fair?!? Um... okay...

What I actually said was, "She is a Lead Staff and helped plan that training, so it was okay for her to miss it. Lead Staff have different expectations and also different levels of responsibility. That is unrelated, so just worry about yourself. Also, that in service was mandatory, but not nearly as important as this one. This is non-negotiable.

"These are my best friends." -K

He's not actually in the wedding, and it wasn't important enough to mention earlier than 2 weeks before, but I'm sure it is important. I wanted to roll my eyes, but instead, I just stared back at his outraged face and said, "I don't know what to tell ya. In other jobs you have, you might have to work shifts that you don't want to. 'Requests' for time off are not always granted. I know you're bummed, I'm sorry. But you knew about this. I didn't hire anyone who couldn't work during that time. I like you, I want you here, but if I had known you couldn't work on that date, I wouldn't have hired you. You can't take that day off."

I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm evil.

I felt a little evil. I hate being a mean boss. But I put a lot of work into making sure they have all of the information up front and I make decisions based on facts, being consistent and fairness. So I'm not evil, he's just not doing what he's supposed to do.

I have a feeling I might hear from his mom later this week, I don't think this is quite over yet...