ABSTRACT
One of the dominant findings was that Good Enough Managers (GEMs) created a facilitating work environment by building and nurturing mutually beneficial relationships characterized by trust, respect, and open communication. Since the oft-cited Hawthorne Studies and the rise of the Human Relations School of organizational functioning in the 1940s and 1950s, relationships have been a central aspect of management thought and practice. Despite the misgivings, workplaces can set the stage for the emergence of powerful relationships. Consider, for example, a real version of The West Wing that played out in the early days of the Obama White House, and the special mentor relationship that occurred between the President’s chief advisor, David Axelrod, and his young special assistant, Eric Lesser. The examples demonstrate that the GEMs are powerful relationship builders who create and nourish working environments characterized by clear and consistent communication, active listening, and careful, instructive feedback, all serving to affirm interactions based on trust and mutual respect.
