What do you want from your ATL/TL/Sups?

I know that there are a lot of people who are new to leadership on this board, and I thought it would be cool for everyone to give them advice, too, by explaining what you would hope the "ideal" ATL/TL and/or Sup would be like for you!

Please be realistic and positive with your descriptions.

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~Lee~

Group Sales ATL '01
Group Sales TL '02
Park Admissions Supervisor '03
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"The greatest leaders don't take credit for their actions; they don't have to."

I want someone who I can be totally free with. Someone that is a leader and runs things well, but is on a personal level and doesn't act like a freaking hot-headed CEO of a business. Make sense? :)

Also, I want someone that is FUN!!!!!! Im sure all the TL/ATLs are......but if you arent......please turn fun before you start working......this is my first year and I hope it wont be my last because of a bad time. Everyone has said that they love it there......so just be fun and help the first years enjoy it all!

~Vince~

VCoochie@aol.com

Some TLs get a big head, really, as long as you don't do that, we'll get along fine.

--------------------------------
??? 2003
Games 2002
*** This post was edited by GamesDork 1/24/2003 10:49:39 AM ***

just to get the days off i need, and to let me stay at entrance all day.
You wouldn't be saying that if you had to sit at the entrance for Corkscrew, Demon Drop, Millennium Force or Dragster :)

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Justin
Corkscrew ATL 2003
Corkscrew Crew 2002
http://www.msu.edu/~kemppai8/ --- My stupid website

I'm a double blue area sup, here's what I've been telling my buddy that's coming in this year.

1) Accept responsibility for anything happens to what you're supervising, don't make excuses. Understand and accept that anything bad that happens is at least partly your fault.

2) Set a good example. Don't break rules.

3) Don't let your kids establish comfort zones, ie halfway through the year they start slacking off- don't let it happen in the first place, get your kids used to the idea that they have to do an A+ job every day.

4) Don't have your kids do anything you wouldn't do yourself. Demonstrate this when you can.

5) Make the distinction between being buddies at bars and outside of work and having a professional relationship at work. Don't cut slack for your friends- this is important. Being friendly is obviously fine and good as long as your people are doing what they're supposed to be doing.

6) If your workers respect you, being disappointed in them is sometimes more effective than "yelling" at them when they mess up.

7) Give credit for a job well done.

Definetly it is important for a TL/ATL to be hard worker! There is nothing more irritating for a red tag than to be busting their butt all day and know that their TL is slacking off. I've seen so many people who, once they were promoted, instantly began abusing their power. I know that it is easy to do...but remember to set a good example for your crew at all times.

Ditto to all of arearew's suggestions.

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Park Services '01-'03

"Am I still in Cedar Point?"

No wonder your an area supervisor, areaew. :)

Higher positions require more responsibility. Wanting someone in a higher position that will look out for you interests may be good to you, but that doesn't determine whos best for the position. In the long run, following the rules is in the better interest for the ATL/TL/sup. Breaking the rules, especilly if your at a higher position, complicates situations down the road.

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Chocolate is chocolate, but liquor is quicker.

Having been in several managerial positions (and learning to hate it) the one thing that really sort of amused me were the "little hitlers", we all know the types and this is behavior that ought to be avoided!
Anyone with a "blue or double blue tag" are total A$$HOLES! The color of the tag goes to their head. Park Operations has to be the worst department for this. Its stupid taking orders from someone your age. They abuse their power way too much. I thought working rides would be awesome but it SUCKED. The supervision in area 2 are the worst and it needs to be changed. "DO NOT WORK RIDES" thats all I can say! Thats why I am NOT returning to Park Operations this season. I chose a department were I can enforce park rules and not get written up for it! "And you can take that to the bank"

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Wicked Twister / Millennium Force 2002
Cedar Point Police 2003

Speaking of "little Hitlers"...anyhow...not all blue or double blues are that bad..my roomate was my blue tag and he was cool as heck, laid back, and busted his butt along with us...i know there aren't very many others like that but i DO know there are a few that are good........

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Breakers Express '02
TBA... '03

Interesting thread! It'll probably be helpful to anyone new to leadership or anyone who just needs a reminder of what it's all about. To me, being a good leader requires a lot of the same qualities as simply being a good worker. Perhaps I just have less of a distinction between the two than most, but even in situations when I'm not a leader by title, I try to demonstrate the qualities that I'd like everyone to have and hope it is contagious. Here are some examples:

1.) Make whatever ride (food stand, shop, area, etc) you work your pride and joy. Act as if you and your crewmates are working on the best ride in the world and never admit to them or any guests that something else is better. Take pride in providing consistently excellent service to each and every guest whether they are the first of the morning, the last of the evening, or anyone in between. Take pride in being efficient and getting high numbers on your ride. The more rides guests get in a day, the more satisfied they'll be when they leave.

2.) Be competent in your job. Many times, CP will give TL/ATL positions to people who have never worked a particular ride before. This is fine, but make it your business to get to know everything you can about the ride quickly. There might be someone who has worked the ride before there to help you, but you need to learn to avoid bitter feelings that might result from them telling you how to transfer a train or close the ride in mid-July.

3.) Be consistent and don't play favorites. I have a feeling that this is the biggest complaint of many CP employees. Sometimes ATLs, TLs, sups, and management do things that just don't make sense and seem to play favorites. I found that if you show up on time, do your job, stay out of trouble, etc, you have nothing to worry about regarding this. But I also saw some people receive eight warnings before being fired and others receive none or one.

4.) Don't let the color of your tag go to your head. You were chosen to be a leader probably because you did a great job somewhere along the line. Keep doing that! Continue to make a name for yourself by doing good work, not sucking up. Show your crew with actions how things should be done, not by telling them what to do and then sitting in an ACed control booth. Think of it more like a team with you as the captain rather than a company with you as the boss. You do a lot more good on the field (doing your job) than you do on the bench (doing nothing).

5.) Make an effort to get to know everyone on the crew and make them feel comfortable talking to you and working with you. Too many people want to play "boss" rather than being more of a leader on the same level as the rest of the crew. Make your crewmates your friends, not your servants or enemies.

6.) This kind of goes along with #1, but don't show anyone if you're having a bad day. Leaders set the tone for the rest of a crew and they need to show up and do a consistently good job each and every day, despite what might be happening outside of work. It is lame to expect one crewmember to pick up the slack for another one who is dogging. Put forth 100% effort every day and nothing less.

-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

Problem with the "little hitler" title is this. Most of those people are doing their jobs and making and expecting people to do theirs.

They get the titles because someone before them let people slack off and those people generally don't get a supervision/TL/ATL position again.

Don't be mad at someone for actually expecting you to do the job that you agreed to when you signed your contract.

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June 11th, 2001 - Gemini 100
VertiGo Rides - 82
Technical Services 2002
Fright Zone Screamster 2002

Funny you brought up "Little Hitler". One of my Ride Prides last season decided to take off and get in line for WT. Needless to say he called me Little Hitler the rest of the night because I caught him. He was coming back from break and was going to Space Spiral to send another break. Well, he decided to walk from SpaceSpiral to WT and jump in line. I got a call saying "one of are RidePrides is missing". He was found rather fast since I knew half of the WT crew. It's a place to work when your on the job, not to go ride unless your off work..

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Park Services 98'
Snake River 99'00'
Peanuts ATL 01'
GW/SS/Schwab TL 02'
Kiddy Kingdom TL 03'


<<Problem with the "little hitler" title is this. Most of those people are doing their jobs and making and expecting people to do theirs.

They get the titles because someone before them let people slack off and those people generally don't get a supervision/TL/ATL position again.

Don't be mad at someone for actually expecting you to do the job that you agreed to when you signed your contract.>>

I've seen quite a few people who seemed to get rather upset when they were told that they actually had to work, and got mad at their TL's for telling them to. It makes you wonder about people.

But in my experience I have seen quite a few TL's who really are bad, and have the nerve to scold employees for not working hard enough when the TL's themselves are barely lifting a finger. Red tags do not always have problems with their TL because they (the red tags) aren't working hard enough, sometimes it is the other way around.

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Park Services '01-'03

"Am I still in Cedar Point?"


coasterchick said:
Funny you brought up "Little Hitler". One of my Ride Prides last season decided to take off and get in line for WT.

Heh heh, that reminds me of something that happened on our crew. One of our Ride Prides asked if he could ride stuff on his break and our TL told him no. He ignored what she said, got in line for Power Tower, and came back from break. Obviously she caught him and said something like, "If you like Power Tower so much you can go to Super Himalaya for the rest of the day and watch Power Tower from there."

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Justin
Corkscrew ATL 2003
Corkscrew Crew 2002
http://www.msu.edu/~kemppai8/ --- My stupid website

But in my experience I have seen quite a few TL's who really are bad, and have the nerve to scold employees for not working hard enough when the TL's themselves are barely lifting a finger.

I hear this one all the time. It's really a trade-off when you move up. You probably don't have to do as much of the actual physical work, but in turn you carry the burden of extra responsibility. Before, maybe you were in charge of running a register and that's all you had to worry about. Then you get promoted and now you're running an entire location. Sure, you're not on the register constantly anymore, but now it is YOUR fault when (just about) ANYTHING in that location goes wrong. It's more of a mental thing, and it's much more stressful.

That said, most of the supervisors/managers that I respected were the ones who weren't afraid to get their hands dirty and chip in to help out, who didn't mind jumping back on that register for a little while or to take that garbage out or to help with the paperwork. Basically if your people are busting their asses, you should be too.

You're not allowed to ride rides on break? How long is break? Sorry, this confuses me...
If you're working a shift.. You can't ride during your breaks.. Pretty simple..

You can ride on your day off.. or before or after your shift.. But that's it...

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June 11th, 2001 - Gemini 100
VertiGo Rides - 82
Technical Services 2002
Fright Zone Screamster 2002

I love riding rides at CP, but rushing to change clothes, waiting in line, riding one ride, and then rushing to change back into uniform doesn't sound like my idea of a relaxing break. Breaks are best spent at least in the shade (Stockade) or better yet in the air conditioned cafe where you can drink some water or a beverage and maybe grab something to eat. Breaks are either 15, 30, or 45 minutes depending on your shift and trust me - relaxing and chilling out during them is the best thing you can do for yourself.

Keep in mind, this comes from someone who spent practically every waking moment (that I wasn't working) riding rides in the park. Many people don't want anything to do with the park when they're not working, but I was an exception I guess. Riding during breaks is just a crazy idea in the first place though! :)

-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

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