There are two kinds of General Managers in radio.
The kind that make you better… and the kind that make you update your résumé during your lunch break.
I’ve had both.
Let me tell you a story—Just Plain Steve style.
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Back in my days at Cumulus in Topeka, I worked under a man named Ron Covert. Now let me say this plainly: Ron was the kind of GM that made you want to show up early and stay late—not because you had to, but because you believed in what was happening inside those studio walls.
Ron wasn’t just a title. He was present.
He knew the stations. He knew the people. He knew the product. And most importantly, he knew how to lead without making you feel small.
When the cluster brought big-time content like Kansas athletics onto the airwaves, Ron was right there championing it, talking about “serving the audience” and growing the brand. 
That’s what a real GM does. He doesn’t just count the money—he understands the mission.
A good GM walks the halls.
A great GM knows your name.
The best GM? He knows your potential before you do.
Ron was that guy.
He gave you room to create, but structure to succeed. He didn’t micromanage—he managed people. And there’s a difference. If something went wrong, he didn’t come in swinging—he came in asking, “How do we fix it?”
Now last I heard—and I’ll say this with a little “radio hallway accuracy”—Ron made his way out of the broadcast grind and into the insurance world somewhere up in Nebraska. I couldn’t find a clean public profile confirming exactly where he landed, but knowing Ron, I guarantee you this: wherever he is, somebody’s office is running better because he’s in it.
Because leadership like that doesn’t retire… it just changes frequency.
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Now…
Let me take you “up north.”
And if you know, you know.
We’ll just call him “MK.”
Because some names don’t deserve airtime.
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MK was the kind of GM that made you check the parking lot before you walked in—just to see what kind of day it was about to be.
You ever had a boss where the temperature of the building changed based on their mood?
Yeah… that.
MK didn’t lead—he hovered.
Didn’t inspire—he intimidated.
Didn’t build—he broke.
A bad GM in radio will:
Forget that talent is human
Treat programming like a spreadsheet
Care more about control than creativity
Kill morale and then ask why ratings are down
Take credit when things go right
Disappear when things go wrong
And oh… meetings.
Long meetings.
Meetings about meetings.
Meetings that could’ve been emails, phone calls, or honestly… not exist at all.
MK had a special gift for sucking the oxygen out of a room and then blaming the room for not breathing.
And here’s the truth nobody says out loud in radio:
Bad GMs don’t just hurt stations…
They run good people out of the industry.
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But here’s where the story turns.
Because if you’ve ever had both—a Ron and an MK—you learn something.
You learn what leadership is…
By surviving what it isn’t.
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Ron taught me how to lead.
MK taught me how not to.
Ron showed me that people matter more than product.
MK showed me what happens when product is all you think about.
Ron built culture.
MK created tension.
Ron made you better.
MK made you tired.
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And somewhere in the middle of all that…
You find your own voice.
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So now, when I walk into a room—whether it’s a church, a studio, or a meeting—I carry both of those lessons with me.
Be the leader people want to follow.
Not the one they endure.
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Because at the end of the day…
Radio is just like life.
You can boost the signal…
Or you can create static.
And trust me…
Everybody knows the difference.
-Just Plain Steve