In her first managerial job at a manufacturing facility, the article's author Gaylyn Sher-Jan learned of an employee who admitted to stealing food from the cafeteria. She ended up firing the employee, but also learned that she was homeless and trying to feed her two children.
"Even today, many years later, I employ the learnings from this experience," writes Sher-Jan, now chief people officer and vice president of enterprise services for Insitu, a Boeing Company. "I wish I would have reserved judgement until I'd heard her side of the story and dug a little deeper on options for her situation. I was too late. As a female manager in a male-dominated department, I felt powerful and important."
But "after this experience, I felt like an imposter," Sher-Jan adds. "I realize that it was important to never forget that compassion and understanding has a role in decision-making."
In emphasizing compassion, Sher-Jan takes specific approaches, including putting actions and behaviors into context and over-communicating important messages at least seven times.
"I've found that the truth of every matter is someplace in between what you see on the surface and what's going on in the background," she writes. "It's important to approach sticky management situations with compassion for the humanity and individuality of those who work for you."