Lessons In Leadership

     During my 2 weeks in Jacksonville, FL for my front line supervisors training we were voluntold to participate in a community service event on Saturday morning.  Perhaps working for the railroad has skewed my perception some, as we are often voluntold to do things, but this really didn't bother me.  It was for a good cause, and I am missing doing physical labor.  We were tasked with helping an organization called Dignity U Wear (http://www.dignityuwear.org/)  They are an organization that helps everyone from wounded warriors to battered wives and everyone in between to be dressed well for interviews and work situations.  Since they spend so much time giving people makeovers, we were going to give their warehouse a makeover. 
   
     We all showed up at 0730 on  Saturday morning, got our matching t-shirts, name badges and a light breakfast.  There were cameras everywhere and some newspaper reporters as well.  When we were called to order there was the usual handshaking photo ops and that included CSX's VP of transportation, Cindy Sanborn.  Many of us little folks in the crowd assumed that Ms. Sanborn would get the pictures taken and then be off to her ivory tower, and we would be proved very wrong.  Along with Ms. Sanborn there were some other higher level officers of the company and there were also families and kids that other employees had brought with them to support a good cause. 

     All day everyone there worked their butts off to help this great organization, we painted, we pulled stumps, we scraped old paint off of concrete blocks and so on and so forth.  It was hot, and we were all sweaty... well with the exception of 2.  There were 2 guys who stood and watched all day, never picking up a paint brush or a scraper.  These 2 guys are supposed to be the mentors of our management trainee program and our leaders.  When asked why they weren't working they responded that "we are a higher level than you"  which is true, but they were not above some of the people there. When the VP is sweaty and dirty, you don't have an excuse. That didn't seem to matter to these 2, but I can proudly say the rest of the people that showed up worked really hard, from the VP's on down to the kids.  When we were done we had painted the entire warehouse, inside and out!   No one other than those 2 "leaders" left clean and dry, we were all dirty and sweaty.  And we were all proud of what we had accomplished that day.

    So to those aspiring leaders, don't stand there and watch.  Some of the comments I heard afterward about these 2 were pretty nasty, and whether they deserved them or not, they chose to say "Do what we say, not what we do" and they never even had to open their mouths.  If you are acting as a leader know that you are being watched by your subordinates and even if you are not the top tier there is always someone looking to you to show by example.  This can be an old head teaching a lemon head, or a lemon head showing his children what he has learned in his life, or a new manager getting their hands dirty.  We are all leaders to someone.

Sorry there aren't any pictures, I was pretty busy and figured I could find some online since there were so many people running around with cameras. Turns out I was wrong, but if you can find some pictures I would love to see them, and please check out Dignity U Wear they are a pretty cool organization. 

Trainmaster Trainee and Hotel Living

This is a picture of the Main St. Bridge in Jacksonville, I am staying right behind where I took this pic from

 

      Sorry I  haven't written I a while, I have taken on a new role here at CSX and I wasn't sure what the rules were about social media and posting about my experience.  As I expected, they are fairly strict and I am limited as to what I can or can't put on a blog.  Here is what I can tell you. I have gone back to the dark side (transportation) and am now working as a trainmaster trainee.  I do miss the signal department, but this job is pretty challenging in its own right and I am nervous and excited about it.

     This program is 8 months long and none of that time is at home.  I traveled a fair amount with the signal department and add the last few months of this and I am now a platinum or diamond member with 3 different hotel groups (Marriott, Hyatt and IHG)  I can say with confidence that if you want to know about hotel living I can give you the ins and outs of it.  I have spent time in Atlanta, GA, Avon, IN, Jacksonville, FL and Ontario, OH and that is just in the last 3 months.  Since I feel incredibly qualified to comment on hotel living, I thought I would make a list of a few tips that would have made my life a bit easier.

1.  If you can stay in a Marriott, DO IT!
   It doesn't matter if it is one of there more reasonably priced hotels like the Fairfield or one of their premiere resorts, Marriott knows how to take care of its customers.  The beds are always super comfy and the rooms are always clean.  Oh yea and they give you cookies!

2.  I don't care how lazy you are feeling, room service is just not worth it. 
   This morning I decided to have a lazy Sunday morning and called down for a cheese omelet, crispy bacon, OJ and some rye toast.  I expected it to cost more than Denny's but $30 for breakfast almost made me lose my appetite, and they forgot my toast!  The omelet had just a teeny bit of shredded cheese and the grits were instant, it did come with the smallest bottle of tabasco ever.

    
3. Don't leave anything valuable in your room.
    This seems obvious but really, even just to let the maids in.  Take laptops, watches, purses etc. and lock them in your trunk if you have one.  If not and you are only going to be there a few days, pass on the maid service, you probably don't have one at home and you can live without one for a few days in a hotel.

4. Check your receipts at check out!
     Again, it may seem obvious but there have been many over charges or extra charges show up on a hotel bill.  Once you sign your name, your done.  A new trick hotels are trying is "I am sorry we don't print receipts anymore, I can email it to you"  Say yes please, and then check it before you leave. 

5. Your bed is always better.
    I have heard a few people lately tell me how "cool" it must be to get to travel so much, or how "exciting" it must be to stay in so many different hotels, I can say with confidence they are wrong.  It is "cool" and "exciting" to stay in a hotel for a few weeks, not a few months.  My bed is still my favorite (Marriott's are a close second)  They also must be forgetting that I work most days, and most days I work 12+ hours (oh yea salary and no hours of service!)  I have a little time to see the sights, but mostly I am working and sleeping.

I hope to be able to add some more to my blog that probably will not be directly railroad related, but I can post some generalizations and answer broad questions about how this place works.