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Training managers is good business By Dave Hurst This article appeared in the September 26, 2003 issue of Pennsylvania Business Central JOHNSTOWN--An effective manager-employee relationship can mean the difference between success and failure, profits and losses for a business. One key to effective manager-employee relationships is good leadership. Richard A. Buck believes those twin tenets so strongly that he is building his Johnstown proprietorship, PeopleFirst Leadership Institute, upon them. PeopleFirst offers programs to train effective business leaders and also provides motivational speakers for groups. Ask Buck what PeopleFirst does and he refers to the company's tagline: "Improving Business By Improving Their People." Ask if that means he is a human resources consultant, Buck replies, "I think I'm a little different." PeopleFirst customizes its leadership training programs to fit the needs of each client business. One may need one-on-one counseling with front-line managers. Another client may desire that its managers and/or supervisors receive instruction in a class setting. Buck begins by telling managers two truths: First, they cannot force employees to do their jobs. Second, they cannot make employees care about their jobs. Effective leaders learn ways to positively influence behavior. More than techniques, PeopleFirst trains managers to adopt approaches that can build mutual respect. For example, a look at PeopleFirst's website (www.peoplefirst.net) on Sept. 18 would have yielded this advice for managers: DWYSYWD‑Do What You Say You Will Do. Buck began PeopleFirst with his wife, Diane, two years ago and operates it from his Belmont home. Diane Buck, involved with the business on a part-time basis, is a special education teacher in the Greater Johnstown School District. While the business is young, Buck is not—he’s 51‑and his experience in business and leadership training is extensive. For 20 years be was involved in his father's wholesale and retail business, Buck's Hobby Shop in Downtown Johnstown, then with the 2000 US Census as a partnership specialist. On the leadership side, both he and Diane have been heavily involved in the US Junior Chamber program‑-the Jaycees. In addition to holding offices and serving actively on chapter, state and national Jaycee levels, both Bucks participated in a five-level training program that certified them as International Training Fellows. "I was the 22nd person in the world to earn that honor," said Buck. His wife was the 23rd. Drawing upon that background, the Bucks try to help business clients break through the traditional labor-management barriers that tend to exist, to help the client's managers get more comfortable with the concept of approaching employees for opinions on how to improve operations. "I just don't believe we're any different than many places," said Buck, when asked if blue-collar traditions make this region's manager-employee environment a challenge for supervisors. But by improving employer-employee relationships, businesses should benefit. And success suggests the likelihood of more jobs and economic growth for the business and the region. Putting people first, Buck believes, is one effective approach to economic development. |