Strange Request

Have you ever had a strange request from an employee? It might be something as strange as I want to get home to see the solar eclipse. The first question that most leaders might think right off the top of their head is "are they crazy?" This is where perception vs reality comes into play as although we might view the request as off the wall this might be something that is very important to the employee. I once had an employee ask at 9:55 to leave work when their shift was going to end at 10:00 because they needed to get to the bank by 10 pm. First of all what bank is open till 10 pm and what is so pressing that it cannot wait until 9 am the next morning. In this case my perception was nothing can be that important that it cannot wait until the next morning. What I did not realize is the person was 2 months late on their rent and if they did not have the money by 7 am they were going to be kicked out.

As a leader I think these strange requests cannot be made as a knee jerk reaction as they have to be thought out. Things to think about are:

• Will this decision be consistent with other decisions I have made in the past?
• Would I be willing to make this exception to someone else?
• Why are they asking for this request and what is the underlining issue?

Lastly you have to have empathy when explaining your decision. Some of these decisions are going to be tough for the employee to handle as this might be the single most important event happening for them. However if you are not being consistent you cannot make a decision as one argument most employees have is their manager is not consistent. If the decision is right or wrong the more consistent your approach as a leader will be understood, not always accepted, but understood.