The meeting I was in yesterday was just like all the others I have been in.  Then a manager came in a little late.  He looked a little disheveled.  For the past several weeks he had been butting heads with one of his supervisors that had not been living up to this good manager's vision of what needed to be done.

We had discussed this supervisor's performance in this meeting before and I was certain that it was going to come up again in this meeting yesterday.  When the time was turned over to this manager to cover his topics, he paused.

The pause almost became uncomfortable, but there was no doubt that he had all of our attention.  He began slowly to recap the complaints and irritations he had experienced in the past several weeks with this supervisor and then he said:  "Did you know that she is only 19 years old?" 

Truthfully, I think everyone in the room was surprised to learn that this young supervisor was so young.  She seemed so much more mature than 19 and she certainly didn't work like most 19 year olds.  The manager continued to express that when he had learned of her age he said he was overcome with guilt.  She was performing at a level that was far above what he was performing at when he was 19.  He admitted that he was really working her hard because he expected much more from her.

The revelation that she was so young helped this manager put things into a better and clearer perspective.  We talked about opportunities for furthering her supervisory and leadership skills through training and put a plan in place to provide a mentor and coach for her.

The once "in trouble" supervisor was now on the path to great things all because a manager took the time to humble himself and recognize that there was an opportunity to nurture and develop raw, natural talent into something more concrete than he thought was possible.  It was pure enjoyment on my part to sit there and watch the magic happen once the understanding was in place for this manager.

How often do we do this ourselves, criticize and complain without fully giving the other person all the help and support first.  Kudos to this manager for being willing to admit a mistake and set a plan in place to rectify the damage done.

May we all remember the many mistakes and struggles and learning lessons we went through and give others the same courtesy we would hope for when dealing with people in these situations.

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