Vilsack/Sherrod: VWhat does child rearing have to do with being a good bureaucrat?

I spent five years as Associate Director of West Virginia University's Extension Service.   When I took the job, I had very little experience as an administrator.   I was a little concerned about not having the right knowledge and skill set to be an administrator.

One of my first challenges was dealing with faculty member disputes.   Someone would come to me with a complaint about a supervisor or another faculty member.   They were always completely sincere and convincing.   I was tempted to make up my mind and act based on a single conversation.   Then I remembered my kids and how their versions of stories contradicted.  So I pulled in the other party and heard their story.   Usually equally sincere and convincing, but 180 degrees different.  I learned to always get the other side.  and then it occurred to me that many concepts in good child rearing applied to administration:

Encourage appropriate autonomy
Praise more than criticize
Be empathetic
Model behavior
Emphasize rewards over punishments
etc.etc.

The recent forced resignation of Shirley Sherrod by Tom Vilsack could have been avoided if Vilsack had gathered more information.   His action apparently came based on a video fragment of her speech at an NAACP event which left out an important part of her message.  He now apologizes saying he did not have complete information.  He could have avoided this embarasment, by checking things out...starting with Sherrod.