Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach and University of South Florida’s football coach Jim Leavitt were both recently fired because of stories brought to the respective schools by upset parents about treatment their sons had been receiving. The truth in these allegations is murky at best, yet both universities took swift and decisive action without knowing complete facts.
Parent involvement in children’s sports is no surprise, but reaching the college level and having impact on the employment of coaches is new. Emboldened helicopter parents (hovering overhead trying to control outcomes) are now extending their impact beyond the home and grade schools and into the workplace.
How do you handle parents who refuse to cut “the apron strings” on their children even when they become adults?
Handle with care
Parents who feel it is their obligation to get involved in employment matters of their offspring are not to be brushed off or handled lightly. These are people who believe they have a right to be there to defend their children. Already, I am hearing stories of parents demanding meetings with their adult child’s boss to talk about non-raises, disciplinary action, opportunity, and workplace complaints.
To not return their calls, tell them gruffly they have no business dealing with the issue, or flat out telling them to get lost only creates a nightmare of confrontation that very well could lead to litigation.
The best approach is to give them the opportunity to be heard. This is the most important desire they have. Secondly, take notes of the conversation to ensure you are getting all the details as they see them. This also lets the parent know you are listening to what they have to say. Lastly, let them know you will look into the matter and set a time for you to get back in touch with them. They want to know you took them serious.
Get the details
It would appear that the universities may have had alternative motives in firing these football coaches because the facts in the complaints brought by parents appear to have many errors and counter opinions from witnesses including the “child” involved in one case.
Before taking rash decisions, be sure you take the time to gather facts, speak with eye witnesses, and review reports and records until you have the details. Then make your decisions. It would be wrong to act on the words of the complaining parents and alienate your staff. It would also be wrong to cast aside the parent’s complaint and ignore it. Always gather information until you believe you have a firm understanding of the situation before taking action. The last thing you want to be dealing with is a legitimate sexual harassment case you never bothered to check the facts on.
Create a case file
As absurd as this may have sounded not very many years ago, managers are going to have to accept the meddlesome nature of parents wanting to get involved in every perceived slight of their children. The best approach is to create a case file of the complaint, what you found out, and the decision you chose to make. This is as much for self preservation as it is to demonstrate you took the complaint seriously.
If children’s sports and school experiences are any indication of manipulative parental involvement, this behavior is on the increase and will not be going away. The better prepared you are to handle it, the quicker you can reach resolution and get back to managing the workforce that only exists within your walls, the better you can focus on developing and growing your business..
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