The Sandwich

The Sandwich

Christ said, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever,” (John 14:16 KJV).

The emergency room stretcher made my backache. I tried to find a more comfortable position. The gentle beep of my heartbeat from the cardiac monitor made me drowsy in the darkened room as I waited for my test results. I shivered from my fever and thanked God for the warmed blanket the nurse gave me.

A brash voice outside my open door jolted me awake. “Remember that I am your boss and you must do as I say or there will be consequences.” The conversation ended. My heart grieved for the poor soul who received such harsh words from their manager.

I recalled the best and worst managers in my nursing career of four decades. My favorite one, Dr. Ron, a gentle geriatrician, met each person on the medical staff monthly in his office for fifteen minutes. He reviewed their goals, successes, and areas for improvement.

He sat next to me rather than across from me with a huge desk between us. I knew he wanted me to succeed. He always began with my successes and then reviewed the printout of my productivity goals. We discussed areas for improvement in the next month and how I could attain the new goals. At the end, he shared positive comments from the staff or family members of my patients in the nursing home. He always ended with, “Keep up the good work, Pam!” As I walked out of his office, I thanked God for giving me such a compassionate manager.

I later learned he used the Sandwich method. He began with something positive, gave constructive feedback, and ended with a positive comment. The ER charge nurse did not use the sandwich method. Sadly, I encountered quite a few managers in my career who tore me down instead of encouraging me.

The Holy Spirit called the Comforter in John 14:16, comes alongside and helps us. By God’s grace, may we do likewise. Feel free to share in the comments the characteristics of your favorite manager.