Lessons from a Side-Yard Superhero

What follows is an interview with Dr. Rick D. Niece entitled the Side-Yard Superhero, an outstanding tale about his simple stories of innocence and growing up, appealing to grandparents and grandchildren alike, opening the dialogue about the time when life was simpler and people were downright good.

Community and trust are two key elements of Dr. Niece’s story, and I asked him to share a little more about his philosophy and how it relates to managers and employees.

Phil: Share a little background about how you’ve encouraged responsibility in those around you?

Dr. Niece: I have been in education for 41 years, and 31 of those years have been as an administrator. The past 13 years, I have served as a university president. I encourage responsibility in people around me in three major ways.

A. I do not micro-manage. I hire people who are supposed to know more about their specific area than I do. I then let them do their jobs.

B. I encourage participatory governance. That is, everyone has a voice in a decision. Their voices may not be directly heard by me, but they can express their concerns/ideas to someone who does report directly to me. I believe that people who are affected by a decision should have a say in that decision. The decision may not be decided in the way an employee wants it to be, but employees will know they were heard.

C. Students have a voice on our campus, and that helps them develop a sense of responsibility. Students participate on all Board of Trustee (our governing body) Committees. When we develop our annual budget, a budget of over $22 million, students are members of the 22-member, campus-wide Budget Committee. A student’s vote counts the same as my vote or a tenured faculty member’s vote.

Responsibility is encouraged when we give others legitimate power and the opportunity to make real-life decisions that affect others. And responsibility is nurtured when people are held accountable for their decisions.

Phil: Your book talks about building work ethic. How can managers tap into this in their associates when they appear to have none?

Dr. Niece:  My book, The Side-Yard Superhero, is an example of how I built my strong work ethic. That work ethic and sense of responsibility were developed through my being a paperboy and having a route of 72 customers who relied on my service. I became a paperboy at age nine and kept the route until I graduated from high school and entered college.

From a manager’s perspective, each position he/she supervises needs a job description, and each of those jobs, in a business, company, or campus setting, must be evaluated based upon that job description.

Performance indicators need to be clearly defined, and then performance evaluations must be conducted based upon those indicators. Evaluations should be as objective and quantifiable as possible. If employees are unable to develop the proper work ethic and performance required for the job description, it is time to find another employee.

Phil: How can managers use the tips about assigning chores to assign meaningful tasks to their associates?

Dr. Niece: Every business, company, or campus should function under the principles of its Mission Statement. The Mission Statement should clearly articulate the Core Values of that entity’s primary goal, be it profit-making or student learning. All tasks and responsibilities should be appropriate for and directed from the Mission Statement and Core Values. Tasks assigned on the micro, employee to employee level should then, by their very nature, be meaningful tasks. If the assigned tasks do not relate directly to the Mission Statement, Core Values, and specific job description, they are not meaningful, and employees will not, as a rule, be productive.

Phil: What are a few tips for helping associates be more responsible?

Dr. Niece: The customer—or in a campus example, the student—is king. Customer satisfaction and student learning are the focus of what we are about. 

A: Help associates realize it is about more than themselves. Success is about the collective community of employees working together to fulfill the company’s mission. 

B. If we let others down in the complex chain of activities required to achieve success, we let ourselves down. A sense of self pride is key to making others feel responsible.

C. Help employees understand the importance of not disappointing themselves and others. Team effort and cooperation are key, and that goes from the president down to every aspect of the organization.

Phil: Other than your book, what are some other resources we need to know about?

Dr. Niece: The Side-Yard Superhero deals implicitly with work ethic, values, responsibility, and dependability. The lessons are learned through the central characters and their relationships. The book is not a hammering of these traits, but a gentle nudging. The characters’ actions and interactions demonstrate to readers the merits and rewards of being responsible.

There are two books that are excellent examples of how to operate a business and include all of the constituencies. The first is The Three-Legged Stool, by Roland S. Boreham, Jr. In his book, Boreham discusses the three legs that are essential for keeping a stool steady: customers, employees, stake holders. The second book is Sam Walton’s Made in America. For anyone who wants to truly understand the importance of employees as associates, Sam Walton’s book is a must-read. 

Phil: What else should I be asking?

Dr. Niece: I firmly believe that we are the role models and examples of service to others for the next generation of workers and leaders. They are watching us and learning. We owe it to that generation to understand the importance of ethical behavior and truthfulness. Our responsibility is to teach the next generation to trust the human spirit. When people are trusted, respected, and given responsibility, they almost always perform beyond their capability and our expectations.

Phil: Great stuff! Thanks for sharing your insights Dr. Niece!

Folks, please go check out Side-Yard Superhero, or Dr. Niece’s website, today.