Checklist for a Firing/ Slow or Fast Motion
March 26, 2019 9:47 AM Subscribe
This was me last year. This has been one of the most difficult working years of my life. I worked round the clock, was under constant stress but I was finally successful at righting everything, and had finally started to relax. Big mistake.
Competence was back on track, I have a new management team in place. Most importantly, the numbers are back up, and my area of responsibility is outperforming the market at a level which hasn't been seen for a number of years. The employee survey results (including for my leadership) were also very good.
My immediate manager has been full of praise and I filled in my bonus review checklist with a great deal of confidence, and in my appraisal talk they were full of appreciation for what I had done.
Two weeks ago, I got a worrying warning sign. My manager scheduled a follow up development talk which was suddenly full of criticism about my style. Why was I so detail oriented? Why did I not let my team take more of the lead? Why was I so aggressive in chasing my goals? At the end of the talk, they clarified that my final rating would be "On Target" because despite the clean up I had done, and the trend in the numbers, they needed to calibrate against other leaders.
Three days ago, I got a call saying the Holding CEO had personally downgraded my rating to "below target" which essentially cancelled my bonus. Furthermore, a whole host of complaints emerged which were either very vague (too detail oriented for a leader) or were very odd (so odd they would be recognisable-- think things like I wore a block heel rather than a pointy heel, that level). My exceptionally good employee survey numbers were ignored, and instead they referred to vague statements like "some of your employees said you micro managed them".
There is absolutely no argument about what I accomplished. All of the criticism is being based on the How and all of the How seems to rest on the CEO flatly not liking me. He seems to be at full on bitch eating crackers where I'm concerned. I have not had much interaction with him, so I do not know why.
So, some further data points: this Holding CEO is relatively new, and is clearly in the process of pushing people he did not hire out of the company. As a fun fact, there were four women (including myself) who held P&Ls in the larger holding when I wrote this question last year. As of writing, I am the last one standing, and I do not think I will be standing for long. My immediate manager thinks I can get past this, but the CEO habit is to start criticising and the criticism is followed by a swift departure.
So now I'm preparing. I would like to say that I'm cool and collected, but honestly I feel terrible. The black mark on my record means I can't stay with the larger holding in any different kind of position of responsibility even though I do have supporters. Worse, I'm pretty sure the purpose of doing this is to pay me less than my contractually agreed way out when the axe finally does fall and I'm not sure I can stave that off. And, you know, I'm so looking forward to being unemployed for cause as a middle aged single woman. (Note: I do realise I'm very lucky compared to many. I know.)
Can you take a look at what I'm doing, and see if there are tricks I'm missing? Self Care is my biggest gap right now. How did you take care of yourself? I'm divorced, 50, no kids, and living in a country not my own. I am currently 15 months into the job. Also, if you're a hiring manager, how would you recommend someone like me position what has happened when applying for a new job?
Legal/Administrative:
I have an appointment with a lawyer on Wednesday. I work in a location where there are virtually no employment protections. This is clearly Constructive Dismissal, but that doesn't exist as a legal concept where I am. Until I have legal advice, I am refraining from answering my review. I don't think I can win in court, but I'm looking to see if I have any leverage to force a compromise of some sort.
HR is useless. They won't defend me from the CEO.
Obviously, this will have a negative impact as far as pension is concerned, so I'm trying to talk to an advisor as well.
****
Self-Care:
Therapy. I started for other reasons, but it's helpful anyhow!
Friends-- it's a little tricky, because my job is so corporate and most of my friends are academic, but I'm leaning on them where I can.
I'm giving myself a week or two to be unhealthy. I can't seem to muster the energy I need to exercise, etc. So I'm just being kind to myself and not pushing myself in any way for the moment. I know that will need to change.
*****
New Job:
Reaching out to my network
Reaching out to headhunters (though I have never found them very useful)
It's not a great time in my field, and I'm just senior enough for positions to be few and far between. Any suggestions here would be helpful too.
Competence was back on track, I have a new management team in place. Most importantly, the numbers are back up, and my area of responsibility is outperforming the market at a level which hasn't been seen for a number of years. The employee survey results (including for my leadership) were also very good.
My immediate manager has been full of praise and I filled in my bonus review checklist with a great deal of confidence, and in my appraisal talk they were full of appreciation for what I had done.
Two weeks ago, I got a worrying warning sign. My manager scheduled a follow up development talk which was suddenly full of criticism about my style. Why was I so detail oriented? Why did I not let my team take more of the lead? Why was I so aggressive in chasing my goals? At the end of the talk, they clarified that my final rating would be "On Target" because despite the clean up I had done, and the trend in the numbers, they needed to calibrate against other leaders.
Three days ago, I got a call saying the Holding CEO had personally downgraded my rating to "below target" which essentially cancelled my bonus. Furthermore, a whole host of complaints emerged which were either very vague (too detail oriented for a leader) or were very odd (so odd they would be recognisable-- think things like I wore a block heel rather than a pointy heel, that level). My exceptionally good employee survey numbers were ignored, and instead they referred to vague statements like "some of your employees said you micro managed them".
There is absolutely no argument about what I accomplished. All of the criticism is being based on the How and all of the How seems to rest on the CEO flatly not liking me. He seems to be at full on bitch eating crackers where I'm concerned. I have not had much interaction with him, so I do not know why.
So, some further data points: this Holding CEO is relatively new, and is clearly in the process of pushing people he did not hire out of the company. As a fun fact, there were four women (including myself) who held P&Ls in the larger holding when I wrote this question last year. As of writing, I am the last one standing, and I do not think I will be standing for long. My immediate manager thinks I can get past this, but the CEO habit is to start criticising and the criticism is followed by a swift departure.
So now I'm preparing. I would like to say that I'm cool and collected, but honestly I feel terrible. The black mark on my record means I can't stay with the larger holding in any different kind of position of responsibility even though I do have supporters. Worse, I'm pretty sure the purpose of doing this is to pay me less than my contractually agreed way out when the axe finally does fall and I'm not sure I can stave that off. And, you know, I'm so looking forward to being unemployed for cause as a middle aged single woman. (Note: I do realise I'm very lucky compared to many. I know.)
Can you take a look at what I'm doing, and see if there are tricks I'm missing? Self Care is my biggest gap right now. How did you take care of yourself? I'm divorced, 50, no kids, and living in a country not my own. I am currently 15 months into the job. Also, if you're a hiring manager, how would you recommend someone like me position what has happened when applying for a new job?
Legal/Administrative:
I have an appointment with a lawyer on Wednesday. I work in a location where there are virtually no employment protections. This is clearly Constructive Dismissal, but that doesn't exist as a legal concept where I am. Until I have legal advice, I am refraining from answering my review. I don't think I can win in court, but I'm looking to see if I have any leverage to force a compromise of some sort.
HR is useless. They won't defend me from the CEO.
Obviously, this will have a negative impact as far as pension is concerned, so I'm trying to talk to an advisor as well.
****
Self-Care:
Therapy. I started for other reasons, but it's helpful anyhow!
Friends-- it's a little tricky, because my job is so corporate and most of my friends are academic, but I'm leaning on them where I can.
I'm giving myself a week or two to be unhealthy. I can't seem to muster the energy I need to exercise, etc. So I'm just being kind to myself and not pushing myself in any way for the moment. I know that will need to change.
*****
New Job:
Reaching out to my network
Reaching out to headhunters (though I have never found them very useful)
It's not a great time in my field, and I'm just senior enough for positions to be few and far between. Any suggestions here would be helpful too.
This post was deleted for the following reason: posters request -- LobsterMitten
I am also a female professional, in my late 50s.
I had a very weird last year at my previous employer -- to strange to go into detail here, but it ended with my VP meeting with me on Dec 23rd (which was not only 2 days before Christmas, but also the 2nd anniversary of my mom's death) to notify me that she was replacing me after the first of the year. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. I was allowed to stay on the payroll. The guy who replaced me (who I then reported to) was decent towards me. But, the writing was on the wall, and I was in full "find a new job" mode.
My story was that I was looking for a change -- I had worked at my present company for 8 years and in the same industry at a previous company for 20 years. My title didn't change, and I didn't bring up my changed responsibilities in an interview. I found a new job in April and turned in my 2 weeks notice. I left my old job on a Friday and started at my new job on a Monday.
As far as self-care goes, my partner and I got two adorable puppies which let me cry in their fur and licked my face. That may or may not be a good solution for you :).
My $0.02. First, what is happening to you is shitty. I'm very sorry. But, from what I have seen, when there is a disagreement between an employee and someone higher than them in the food chain, the employee always loses. When you are looking for a new job, I think it is best to find an explanation for why you are looking for a new job that is oriented to where you want to go, not where you have been. [The explanation may be different for different jobs. For instance, at a left handed wrench manufacturer, you may be wanting to break into that industry where as for a different position, it may be the opportunity to learn a new technology or work in a different functional area.] Also, for me, it was good to leave the old job and immediately start the new job, which was in a completely different industry because it kept me from ruminating on the old company. Finally, and I hope this happens for you, I had realized 2-3 years prior to all this that my industry was dying and I really should find something else, but I wasn't significantly motivated to make the change until I was essentially kicked out. In the 8 years since then, I have been able to work on the cutting edge of technology in my field, received 2 promotions, and significantly more pay.
Oh, and the manager who made the decision to replace me left to "spend time with her family" the week after I started my new job. The guy who took my job left the company within 12 months. So, there was clearly more drama there than was directed at me. Sounds like there may be something similar in your current workplace.
I'm really sorry this is happening. I hope you find an awesome new job.
posted by elmay at 11:39 AM on March 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
I had a very weird last year at my previous employer -- to strange to go into detail here, but it ended with my VP meeting with me on Dec 23rd (which was not only 2 days before Christmas, but also the 2nd anniversary of my mom's death) to notify me that she was replacing me after the first of the year. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. I was allowed to stay on the payroll. The guy who replaced me (who I then reported to) was decent towards me. But, the writing was on the wall, and I was in full "find a new job" mode.
My story was that I was looking for a change -- I had worked at my present company for 8 years and in the same industry at a previous company for 20 years. My title didn't change, and I didn't bring up my changed responsibilities in an interview. I found a new job in April and turned in my 2 weeks notice. I left my old job on a Friday and started at my new job on a Monday.
As far as self-care goes, my partner and I got two adorable puppies which let me cry in their fur and licked my face. That may or may not be a good solution for you :).
My $0.02. First, what is happening to you is shitty. I'm very sorry. But, from what I have seen, when there is a disagreement between an employee and someone higher than them in the food chain, the employee always loses. When you are looking for a new job, I think it is best to find an explanation for why you are looking for a new job that is oriented to where you want to go, not where you have been. [The explanation may be different for different jobs. For instance, at a left handed wrench manufacturer, you may be wanting to break into that industry where as for a different position, it may be the opportunity to learn a new technology or work in a different functional area.] Also, for me, it was good to leave the old job and immediately start the new job, which was in a completely different industry because it kept me from ruminating on the old company. Finally, and I hope this happens for you, I had realized 2-3 years prior to all this that my industry was dying and I really should find something else, but I wasn't significantly motivated to make the change until I was essentially kicked out. In the 8 years since then, I have been able to work on the cutting edge of technology in my field, received 2 promotions, and significantly more pay.
Oh, and the manager who made the decision to replace me left to "spend time with her family" the week after I started my new job. The guy who took my job left the company within 12 months. So, there was clearly more drama there than was directed at me. Sounds like there may be something similar in your current workplace.
I'm really sorry this is happening. I hope you find an awesome new job.
posted by elmay at 11:39 AM on March 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
I'm sorry to have been right in that original thread. My advice is get out and get coffee with people you have worked with before, who will remind you of how awesome you are when you are not in a dysfunctional mess of a place. The future is bright.
posted by warriorqueen at 1:07 PM on March 26, 2019
posted by warriorqueen at 1:07 PM on March 26, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
2. The how is tremendously more important than the what and your leadership is correct to be focused on that, but their inability to effectively lead you is the bigger problem and it's not okay for them to criticize you in this way after failing you.
So, yeah, it's "look for a new job time". You are being managed out. I'm going to wager that there's probably some amount of sexism involved. I don't know if you will ever be able to prove that.
I am a hiring manager. I understand that sometimes women are hired to lead failing groups in order to turn them around and then are managed out for bullshit reasons. That said, I would not be bringing this up in the interview process lol. I would just say "my career path no longer aligned with the direction the business was headed". That's usually enough of a dogwhistle for me to see that someone got out of alignment for probably some bullshit reason that comes down to a failed leadership org not being able effectively manage their high performers.
As far as self care goes, take time to fall apart, it's okay to be a bit of a mess. When you're ready to get back on track, exercise actually does help even though it's so cliche to say that.
Other than that, maybe take a couple of weeks of between positions if you can.
And good luck.
posted by nikaspark at 10:01 AM on March 26, 2019 [2 favorites]