Management Inspiration

When I was promoted to Associate Director at Legacy Group many of my day-to-day responsibilities shifted from managing clients to managing people and workflow directly. This led me to ponder about the leadership style I’ve cultivated over the years. Many of my direct reports are just beginning their careers. As a parent of a young child, I realized I could incorporate some of the lessons I’m instilling in my child with the individuals reporting to me.

Recently I had a chance to be a mystery reader at my child’s school. While browsing the bookstore to decide what book to read, I came across a series of children’s books by Kobi Yamada. A few of his books are “What Do You Do With an Idea?”, “What Do You Do With a Problem?”, and “What Do You Do With a Chance?” Simple scenarios that I think children face regularly. During my beginning months as an Associate Director, I noticed that employees were facing these same obstacles.

One day I decided that I was going to read the books to the employees. Each book tells an important story of how a child overcame an obstacle and provides a valuable lesson. If a child can overcome a problem, the ridicule of a bad idea and missing a chance, so can adults.

“What Do You Do with a Problem” teaches employees not to ignore a difficult problem and instead tackle it head on. “What Do You Do with an Idea” lets employees know that I encourage them to share their ideas with everyone. “What Do You Do with a Chance” teaches employees that although they may fail at their first chance, hard work will earn them new opportunities in the future.

What has inspired your management style?

By Frederick Hodgson
Associate Director – Operations
Legacy Group Enterprises, Inc.

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