Strengthen On-Air & In The Office

Beginning a new job is a period of adjustment and learning. Over the years, I have learned that despite how comfortable some new hires appear, the learning curve can have a lot of kinks in it, especially if the new personality is relocating. Some veteran newbies are a whiz at the illusion of adaptability. Doing the move thing into a new setting is pretty much like changing schools in the middle of a school year; the employee and the employer are both starting over.

Observe

New employees should stay in their lane and don't buy into idle gossip. If you feel uncomfortable or need clarification on anything, go to the person who hired you. Both of you are invested in making this new relationship work.

In Position To Do Better This Time...

Recently, I talked to a former employee with lots of talent, but with a flair for pushing too hard for acceptance within the work place. There were only two times in my career that I fired someone and felt bad about it; this personality was one of those times.

Jock: I am up for a job and I need you to be straight with me. What things do I need to work on if I get it?

Coach: My friend, the fact you are asking me this shows you've been working on one of your weaknesses -- maturity. Some of what I am going to say I have said to you before, but here it goes. Your two most critical areas; learning how to tighten up verbally with your on-air presentation and keeping to yourself around the work place.

Jock: I am aware I tend to get a little wordy on the air sometimes.

Coach: It's a practiced art; practice off the air privately. Get in the production room, use a recorder or an audio editing app (on your iPhone, Smartphone, or computer). Playback your efforts to fine tune your on-air delivery. It is pretty much like rewriting a sentence; be as verbally word efficient as possible to say something.

Jock: I have a six-year-old and to get her to pay attention to me, I have found that I can't go into too much detail. My wife made me realize this is what we both must do, to get her to understand something. I mean, a six-year-old's attention-span can only handle so much ... and too many words are like waving a shiny object in front of them. Their minds wander off so easily

Coach: Transfer your approach with your daughter to what you do on the air. Simple and to the point is what you should constantly strive for.

Now, as far as the office place, friendly is great, but back then, you were too trusting and put yourself in harm's way by inadvertently saying things that you should have kept to yourself. Before I hired you back then, I gave you my "stay out of cliques and gossip speech." Your interpretation of what I said was off the mark and I realized you didn't get it when your name started cropping up in negative ways. You opened up and offered your thoughts, instead of walking away from situations, not offering your two cents, or bringing things to me before accepting something as fact. I know it's in the news these days, but there's no such thing as alternative facts.

Jock: I was naïve to what was going on around me. My previous radio experiences did not prepare me for what I faced at that station.

Coach: You were starting to become a political liability and were costing me time and energy. I had some major station issues I needed to finesse to keep ratings goals on track. So, the good news is, it sounds as if you have enough life experience to avoid problems around a station now.

Jock: I understand a lot better of what you were telling me back then. This new opportunity means a lot to me and I don't want to make the same mistakes I did back when I worked for you.

Coach: Remember, everyone wants to be your buddy in the beginning. Some people are being genuine, some look for ways to use you, and many are innocent bystanders who mean well. The best thing to do is to smile, listen and not offer any opinions about working conditions or co-workers, only share what you want them to know about you, never get drunk at off-site interactions among co-workers, and keep to yourself as much as possible. Keep smiling and never give them anything to talk about other than how good you sound on the air.

Jock: It goes back to something you once told me, it's okay to let someone else be the expert on everything.

Coach: You remember that? Well, this time I think you actually get it. Enjoy the new job and you know where I am if you need me.