[SBE] Can Your Manager Tell Ysbeou What You Do For A living?

[William T. Hayes]

Do you really want the GM of the station out at the transmitter site or do
you want his or her confidence? Very few GM's come up through engineering,
most come through sales or news so they will have a limited understanding of
the technology involved and trying to find a way to have them learn what you
know is probably not going to happen. My opinion is that you are successful
when your GM and your coworkers for that matter, will listen to your counsel
on what should be done to implement technology at the facility and make
their decisions based on their confidence that even though they don't fully
understand the technology, you do and they trust your judgment.

I have taken GM's and corporate people out to transmitter and translator
sites. Here at Iowa Public Television I have even hosted a board meeting at
a transmitter site. The purpose has never been to have them understand what
I do for a living. It is to give them a point of reference so that when I
talk about transmitters, towers, antennas and transmission line they have a
point of reference for the size of the components.

My opinion is that you don't focus on enhancing your manager's ability to
tell what you do for a living but on demonstrating that know what you do for
a living and because you do, they don't need to worry about it. One of the
best complements I have ever received from a GM was when he returned from a
two week vacation that he didn't want to go but family commitments required
him to go. When he came back he and I had lunch where he told me that while
he was gone he worried about the news ratings, the programming ratings, the
sales figures and the budget. The epiphany for him was never once did he
worry about the station being off the air or any technical problems because
he was sure that I and my staff could handle anything that came along. For
me, that was being a successful engineer.

Bill


William T. Hayes
Director of Engineering and Technology
Iowa Public Television
P.O. Box 6450
Johnston, IA 50131-6450
515-242-3116 (v)
515-242-3109 (f)
hayes at iptv.org


-----Original Message-----
From: sbe-bounces at sbe.org [mailto:sbe-bounces at sbe.org] On Behalf Of Bill
Burckhard
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 10:15 AM
To: 'sbe member discussion mail list'
Subject: Re: [SBE] Can Your Manager Tell Ysbeou What You Do For A living?

I have seen a lot of GM's in my time and the most often heard phrase that I
hear that does not happen is "one of these days I'll have to go out there
with you". I have learned not to remind them that they said that.

William R Burckhard
445 South 24th Street West
Billings, MT. 59102
(406)652-4743
billb at khmt.com
www.yourbigsky.com 

-----Original Message-----
From: sbe-bounces at sbe.org [mailto:sbe-bounces at sbe.org] On Behalf Of Bill
Harris
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 9:58 AM
To: K Conlin; sbe member discussion mail list
Subject: Re: [SBE] Can Your Manager Tell Ysbeou What You Do For A living?

In the 30+ years I've been doing broadcast
engineering in its various sizes, shapes and
flavors, my experience has included a first-time
lady GM who absolutely knew what I did, insisted
on seeing the transmitter site while 6-7 months
pregnant to the company president who said,
"I don't know anything about engineering, and
I don't want to know!".  The reality is that
I have had to conduct ongoing education of the
people I've reported to over the years.  Though
that effort has often met with resistance, I
have become pretty skilled at getting my point
across by being, as a former engineering colleague
once put it, "pithy and succinct".  The challenge
is to communicate with your boss before their
eyes glaze over!

Bill in Albuquerque


-----Original Message-----
From: sbe-bounces at sbe.org [mailto:sbe-bounces at sbe.org]On Behalf Of K
Conlin
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 7:04 PM
To: dynotherm at earthlink.net; sbe member discussion mail list
Subject: Re: [SBE] Can Your Manager Tell Ysbeou What You Do For A
living?


----- Original Message -----
From: <dynotherm at earthlink.net>
To: "sbe member discussion mail list" <sbe at sbe.org>
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 12:23 PM
Subject: Re: [SBE] Can Your Manager Tell Ysbeou What You Do For A living?



>

>

> -----Original Message-----

>>From: Sam Garfield <Sgarfield at dilicast.com>

>>

>>I have ofter told my fellow Engineers, that the test of a good General

>>Manager is to ask him for directions to the transmitter site.

>>

>>As often said, being in the communications business, we don't communicate.

>>

>>The Station Engineer has enough on his mind, let alone doing Public

>>Relations with his Boss and Peers.

>>

>>May I suggest that SBE National assist us in promoting our profession to

>>Ownership & General Managers.

>

> -------------


My last GM couldn't turn on his computer without help, let alone give
directions to the transmitter site.  All that "techie stuff" was beneath
him.



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