A Leadership Coach Goes Viral Posting Bosses' Worst Messages

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A management consultant has gone viral by posting the anonymous direct messages employees get from their bosses. Some arrived on the recipient's wedding day, and some are worse. The consultant is George Stern, and Colorado Public Radio's Ryan Warner profiled him for NPR.

Stern had a career in both the public and private sectors, and he is a former Colorado election clerk and a former CEO. About a year ago he began sharing leadership tips. He was putting management advice and infographics on LinkedIn when people started sending him messages. They liked his content, they said, but they had a situation at work and wanted help handling it. Stern decided other people should hear those stories too.

What the messages look like

Millions of people now watch across his social media accounts. The stories include employees contacted on their wedding day and a vacation approval that was taken back. In one exchange, an employee writes that a grandmother died the night before and that they will take bereavement leave for the week, and that they are already at the airport. The boss replies that a funeral is only one day, isn't it?

The employee answers that the funeral is one day, but the travel and supporting their mother take the week. The boss then asks for proof, wonders whether a grandmother counts as immediate family and asks about an upcoming presentation. Could the employee dial into the pitch from Ohio? "I'll be at a wake," comes the reply. "No. Boarding now."

Stern roots for workers with boundaries and points managers in a better direction. "The lesson in all of this, if you want to be a good boss, is be a good human being or don't be a jerk," he said. "Managing is hard, and people know it's hard. They're going to give you grace. They're going to forgive you. You just have to communicate well. You have to treat people well."

Before posting anything, Stern asks the sender for receipts and screenshots and questions them further. He leaves out names and companies. He says the strongest sign that he is onto something is the response. "I have yet to post a video that didn't have dozens of comments and DMs saying, the same exact thing has happened to me," he said.

He extends empathy to managers too, including those who were promoted but never trained and those under pressure from above. "Almost no one wants to be a bad boss," Stern said. "No one wakes up every morning and thinks, I want to destroy someone's career today."

Source: NPR