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Get To Know Who You’re Working With …
June 13, 2023
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I learned early on that one of the keys to staying employed is learning how to compromise. The concept is easy. Find ways to coexist, redirect, bite the bullet, and work without jeopardizing your employment or bargaining chips. Whether you're an air talent, Operations Manager, Program Director, Sales Manager, Traffic Director, or part of the sales team, understanding individual personalities is crucial for long-term employment. The fly in the ointment is the unpredictable future, but you can only control your actions and what's in front of you.
Eventually Gone …
I once had a General Manager who would complain occasionally about music. He was fully briefed on all our callout research data and perceptual studies. However, he'd still elbow his way into our music selection process. Fortunately, his complaints would come long after a song had become a recurrent. He was the best example of how long it takes the average listener to notice a song. He'd always start asking questions about a song after it had been on air for 10 or 11 weeks.Read Him Like A Book ...
The General Manager's pattern was to mention his concerns and then wait 5 more weeks before circling back with the same concerns. By that time a song was usually ready for a rotation change and fewer spins. I'd explain to him the reasons for the song on our station. Meanwhile, my Music Director would wonder why he was meddling since we were always doing well in the ratings. He'd wait for another week or two and again suggest it be removed. His process would take up to 15 or 16 weeks. By that time, I would oblige his request. I figured putting one song on hold to let him have his way was a win for programming.He Was Predictable ...
Over time, the Music Director caught on to what I was doing, and we would share a laugh whenever the General Manager took his biannual stand on a particular song. I strategically chose to "Lose the battle to win the war" in the larger scheme of things we needed for the programming department. The General Manager would go on a guilt trip afterwards and be over the top nice to me. I remember one year I was able to get two new computers for our department and a budget to do an extra focus group and an auditorium test.It's A Learning Process ...
Last fall I had an air talent client complaining to me about his Program Director and Market Manager. No, that’s not unusual, but what was unusual was what he was complaining about. A great deal on airfare and hotel became available to travel to Paris. The only problem, he had used up all his vacation time, personal days, and only had four sick days left. Of course, I would never suggest that he entertain the idea of trying to pass off sick days as vacation time to take a trip.Yes, But No ...
The good news for him was that they were going to allow him to take time off for the trip. However, they weren't going to let him take it as a paid vacation, and he couldn’t understand why. His only argument was that he was a good employee. After listening to him, I remained objective and offered what I thought was their reasoning for not allowing it to be a paid trip. It would set a precedent that they would have had to do for all employees in the future. I kept explaining, but he still wasn't getting it.Good Sense Prevailed ...
He was determined to use his afternoon ratings as a threat to seek employment elsewhere. A place where he believed he would be more appreciated. Luckily, I managed to talk him down from the ledge. What caught his attention was when I mentioned the unexpected extra cash bonuses he recently received. I made him realize that his bosses had to consider the optics of granting a paid trip to Paris to an employee who had already taken all their paid time off. He came to his senses and accepted their decision without making a fuss. Slowly but surely, he's begun to try to understand his bosses and co-workers.It's Not That Difficult ...
The whole employment thing is about human interaction. Don’t complicate things, think outside yourself. Learn the idiosyncrasies of everyone you work with, and things will get a lot better. The hardest part about work is learning how to work the hallways and for those of you who work from home, it’s the same thought process metaphorically speaking in a Zoom world.
All Access Urban/R&B Editor Sam Weaver is also a radio talent coach and consultant, working with beginning and veteran personalities. His 35-year programming and on air career has covered CHR, Urban, Country, Sports, Talk, and Rock. Sam has worked in St. Louis, Detroit, New Orleans, Chicago, Memphis, San Francisco, Greensboro, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Dallas. Lists of other accomplishments include teaching in Chicago at Columbia College and hosting Westwood One's Superstars of R&B concert series. He has moderated or been a panelist at conventions for Billboard, NAB, NABOB, The Concave, and the Canadian Music Festival. For his coaching services, his web site is http://radiocoach.biz, phone, (888) 680 7234, or email, thecoach@radiocoach.biz.
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