Sometimes, I feel like the horror stories about incapable people managing people never end. I should seriously consider writing a book. Maybe someday.

This week was an interesting week for me. I received phone calls from four people (no exaggeration) that at one point in my career either worked for me or I worked closely with. They were all reaching out to say hello, but they all had two other items on their agenda. They wanted to vent about how miserable they were at work, and they wanted to see if I had any career opportunities that may be a good fit for them.

I enjoy talking to people I haven't heard from in a while. It's always good to catch up and stay connected with people in your network. But this week was certainly unique. I'm not sure what made all four people call during the same week, but they did.

The first person I spoke to was the one that really got me worked up. She explained to me that she was miserable at work and couldn't stand her direct manager. She explained to me that she had an opportunity to chaperone on a school trip with her daughter that would require her to be out of the office for several days. She was thrilled and saw it as an opportunity to have some long overdue quality time with her daughter and at the same time, give back a little. Before the details of the trip were finalized, she mentioned the possibility of the event to her manager, and he said it would be OK for her to take the time off.

Then, as the date of the event came closer, she formally requested time off. Her manager denied her time off request, and she was forced to notify the school and her daughter that she couldn't participate in the trip. She even escalated the issue up the chain of command and received the same answer. The management team cited some ridiculous rule about the number of people that would be out of the office as the reason why she couldn't take the time off to participate in the field trip.

I found the entire situation appalling. On the surface, it may not sound like that big of a deal, but it's an example of people managing people who are incapable of recognizing the importance of certain situations in people's lives.

I can tell you, under my watch, this situation would never happen. And if that manager worked for me, he would have a lot of free time on his hands if I found out what happened. If there truly was a challenge with the number of people being out of the office, I would do everything I could to find a solution to the problem. And I wouldn't stop until I did. As the saying goes, “No problems, just solutions.”

I have a rule that I have managed by since the first day I was given the responsibility to manage people. Family is always first. You never miss your kid's soccer or baseball game or whatever sport they play. If they are sick, you stay home with them. You are there for your family and that's mandatory. And when your kids have special events, like graduations, plays, and school field trips, you make it.

It makes me irate to hear stories about incompetent people who are responsible for leading others and making the right decisions. Regardless of what business you are in, managers are in the people business. The people you manage depend on you to make the right decisions that are best for the business and for them. Never underestimate the impact bad decisions will have on loyalty and morale.

Christopher Thompson (cthompson@catch22solutions.com) writes Closing the Deal weekly for the Sunday News.