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October 05, 2006
Are You a Good Fit?
By all accounts, Joe Girardi’s on-field performance as manager of the Florida Marlins was exceptional.
The first-year skipper led the team with the lowest payroll in Major League Baseball to a 78-84 record and helped keep the Marlins in playoff contention until as late as the second week of September. The team far and away exceeded preseason expectations, and Girardi could very well earn the National League’s Manager of the Year Award as a result.
And yet, Girardi was fired by his general manager earlier this week and is now looking for a new job.
The reason? Girardi didn’t get along with management, including team owner Jeffrey Loria; he was deemed a bad fit for the organization. Girardi and his bosses clashed on a range of issues during the year, including personnel decisions and whether it was appropriate for Loria to berate umpires from his seat during games.
The moral of this story? Doing your job well doesn’t just mean carrying out your basic job duties. You have to build a good relationship with your boss as well.
For more on getting along at work, check out these resources:
• “Get Along with Your Personality Opposite at Work”
• “Managing Up: An Overlooked Factor in Career Success”
• “What's Your Personality Have to Do with Work?"
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Posted by Bryan on October 5, 2006 at 12:24 PM in Current Events | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
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Comments
I think you missed part of the point. If you want to KEEP your job, yes, getting along with management is a very important skill.
If I were the manager in question, and I believed it was bad for the team for the owner to yell at the umps (and I would), I would know that I'm not a good fit. Likewise personnel decisions. I have little respect for owners (sports or otherwise), who hire managers to MANAGE the work for them, and then tie the manager's hands by hovering over them and rescinding or questioning every decision the manager makes.
I have enough skills, that I no longer feel the need to attempt to kiss the butt of people whom I find to be poor managers(owners). I loved my most recent supervisor, and could not live with her superiors. So, I went elsewhere. I didn't want to fit in that culture.
Posted by: tigerbunny | Oct 11, 2006 3:07:26 AM
I was recently "laidoff" from a company that I had dedicated 15 years of exceptional service. This post really opened my eyes to why I was let go. It was the best thing that could have happened. I am happier and more successful with an unlimited potential for growth with my new company. I truly am thankful to my toxic boss to helping me realize my true value. I too did not want to conform to a corporate culture that placed little value on loyalty, family and individuality.
Posted by: Eva | Oct 18, 2006 9:41:37 PM
Rather than using this as an example of how Girardi lost his job by not "managing his supervisor", perhaps you might want to look at Loria and his trend toward firing popular managers, dumping salaries, and otherwise alienating the fans of his team, in order to make the value of the team drop. Then, he buys out his co-owners at a bargain. The worst thing that Girardi did was win, causing Loria to pay more to buy out his rivals.
Bad bosses are not something to be managed with, since they will never get better, but are something to be avoided. Girardi was replaced by someone who has promised to kiss up to Loria, but that does not mean that he was the better manager. Girardi won the 2006 Manager of the Year award, and an ESPN poll showed over 90% of the people surveyed felt Loria was in the wrong. When dealing with a manager like that, getting along is less valuable than just getting out.
Posted by: Aaron | Nov 15, 2006 5:42:51 PM
I am still trying to find a fit. I have had several jobs in which past employers and managers were catering to an unwritten culture within a culture. I have been sexually harrassed or being made to look like I have great disregards for rules. I hold myself to high standards,demand of myself my best and love to learn, even within the company. I have been told by many people who were observant or owned businesses that my work history doesn't match up with my intelligence and knowledge. I'm unemployed, still looking and safer.
Posted by: Irene | Dec 27, 2006 12:56:54 PM
