"I work very hard to gain agreement and enthusiasm from my team members. I offer flexibility around unexpected situations and life events, such as being sick, running late, leaving for a mid-day appointment, or calling in because of a family emergency. I ask my team to be straight with me, and if they need a day to recuperate, then take a paid vacation day rather than lying about being sick and letting the team down. I will draw the line and be firm when I see a pattern emerge. For instance, a few months ago, I had a team member who was 'sick' every Friday morning and miraculously recovered by Monday! The first couple of times this happened, I played along, but I did document the instances. After the third time, I met with the employee on the following Monday and let them know that I noticed a pattern of sickness on Fridays. I remained empathetic and asked what I could do to help them overcome the roadblock they faced attending work on Fridays. It turned out that this person's babysitter had stopped working Fridays and she was looking for a new solution but had not found one. I talked to her about alternate scenarios and provided resources. I offered her work-from-home Fridays until she could find a solution, so long as she promised to make herself available online as much as possible during the day. In this instance, I nipped the issue in the bud while remaining empathetic."
