If you were a kid in the 80s, you undoubtedly watched The Facts of Life, which starred Charlotte Rae as the housemother, Mrs. Edna Garrett. Rae died yesterday at the age of 92 and the world is a little bit worse off now.
While I don’t know a great deal about her personal life, her character was someone worth knowing. Rae was the creative force (along with Normal Lear) for The Facts of Life, so we can imagine that Mrs. Garrett shared some of Rae’s own personality traits–or at least her ideals. And if we could have managers like Mrs. Garrett, we’d all be better off. Here’s why.
Mrs. Garrett didn’t tolerate bad behavior
Being a house mother in a ritzy boarding school sounds like a nightmare job to me. But, she handled it perfectly. When the girls did bad things there were consequences. While helicopter parenting wasn’t really a thing in 1979, if they were, they would have complained about their daughters being forced to work in the kitchen to pay a bill for their own stupid actions. Mrs. Garrett would have said no way, no how. You made this mess and you’ll pay it off.
To keep reading, click here: Why the World Would Be a Better Place All Managers Were a Little Bit Like Mrs. Garrett
A few persons like Mrs Garrett are sorely needed in government jobs to combat the attitude of poor performers who feel so job secure that effort to work hard is ignored.
Sorry to hear of her death .