It is often difficult to determine the accuracy of certain media reports.
That having been said, it was interesting recently to hear a report involving long-time Montreal Canadiens defenseman and Hall-of-Famer, Larry Robinson.
Robinson of course has also been a reasonably successful NHL coach. He was an assistant under Jacques Lemaire when the Devils won the Stanley Cup in 1995, and led the same club to a championship a few years ago after taking over the team with a few games to go during the regular season. (In between, he had a less successful stint as Head Coach of the LA Kings.)
Robinson was apparently under serious consideration for the recently available top-coaching job with the Rangers. Reports circulated that after a couple of interviews, he pulled himself out of the running. (General Manager Glen Sather himself has since decided to keep the job himself.)
Most interesting in my world – the world of how people communicate and interact with one another -- was the report that Sather did not return Robinson’s phone calls after their interviews together. Presumably, if these reports were true, Robinson wanted to discuss various possibilities further with Sather (himself a Hall-of-Fame member).
Yet, according to various reports, Sather never returned the phone calls. This evidently occurred prior to Robinson’s ‘decision’ to withdraw his name from consideration for the then vacant Head Coaching position with the Rangers.
It is on the one hand hard to believe that a person of Robinson’s stature in the game would be treated in this way. On the surface, the lack of a return phone call shows, at minimum, a lack of respect.
The reality, however, is this: whether in the world of professional sports, the corporate business world or within personal relationships, this type of response – or lack thereof – is sadly common.
Worse perhaps than communicating poorly or ineffectively in most instances is not communicating at all with someone we owe a response, an answer or an explanation to.
I’ve worked with and counseled literally hundreds of individuals over the past fifteen years in terms of helping them in some manner enhance and develop their ability to communicate with various audiences and in various situations-- with the media, potential employers, with their bosses, with colleagues, etc.
In the sports area, I’ve worked with many coaches. Their communications challenge is multi-faceted: interacting with their players, with senior management, with an often-probing media, and with fans.
Broadly speaking, some coaches handle this assignment fairly well. Others do not. But that’s a thought for another day.
But failing to take the time, a few minutes of one’s time, to return a phone call…..
This kind of non-response…the lack of a return phone call or personal communication of any kind to a request for a job interview, for example, is widespread.
The excuse, presumably, is that people are too busy to take the time.
Unbelievable. And unacceptable.
It is, in almost every instance, a sign of immensely overvalued self-importance, a lack of respect, a lack of interpersonal skills, a lack of common courtesy, and a lack of basic decency.
There is, in short, no excuse for not communicating straightforwardly and honestly as possible with someone who has legitimately and properly approached you in a professional manner.
Especially someone you know.
One can’t help but wonder how those “busy” people who don’t have the time to respond to someone’s request for a job interview, or to provide feedback or an honest response after an interview – will feel when they themselves are in the position of looking for a job.
Larry Robinson likely made a very wise decision in not spending another second contemplating the possibility of working for the Rangers.
A simple lack of courtesy – the apparent refusal to return a phone call, was enough of a sign.
If someone -- a colleague, a potential employer -- treats you shabbily today, they will likely treat you that way in the future.
