Several years back I managed a group of very high-energy, spirited, vocal managers.  One of the managers was particularly vocal on just about every issue.  This manager, who I'll call "Vox", frequently complained to me about other managers, about how Vox's organization wasn't being rewarded appropriately, and how Vox's organization needed more people than Vox's peers.  I did a lot of discussing with Vox about the issues that Vox faced but found that I would frequently give in to Vox's demands.  Vox's peers became very frustrated not only with Vox but also with me because I was showing preferential treatment to Vox.  We would be in meetings and Vox would start complaining about something which would lead into how Vox's team was more important than peer teams, and how Vox's team should be given more in compensation because they were more talented than the rest of the team.  Vox was the squeaky wheel, and I would grease it just to stop it from squeaking. I not only allowed Vox to be the squeaky wheel, but unwittingly encouraged it because I gave Vox what Vox wanted.  Everyone was frustrated with me. Bad on me

Some time back I had a situation where two employees of mine were looking for me to cut them some slack on a commitment that they made but didn’t deliver upon.   They threw every lame excuse in the book at me; it was one excuse of “my dog ate my homework” after another.  After their lobbying me I decided to not cut them any slack; they didn’t meet a commitment because they didn’t perform.  In both situations, I am pretty sure that both of these employees wanted to chuck me out of the highest window they could find.   Well, I guess I'll just need to stay away from tall buildings, because I did the right thing.

Some time back one of my managers sent out an email announcing that we had just won an account.  This was a very big deal for us as our product was new to the marketplace and we were working hard to gain acceptance with customers.  Several of us responded to the email expressing our excitement over the new account.  One of my managers responded with "I've got concerns" and listed off a series of issues with servicing the account.  All of the issues that the manager brought up were valid issues; the problem is that I didn't know who was expected to do what regarding the issues. 

Readers - to accompany my article Eight Drivers of Contentment I have created a simple assessment tool to help you determine the importance level of each of the eight drivers, what it is that makes you content, and what things you can do to be more content.  My hope is that you find the template helpful.  You can download it here.