Ungrateful Bosses

A couple of days back I was shaken by the news that a colleague working for my boss who also had as much flair and had made as many sacrifice as I had in time past for his organization was asked to resign due to fluctuating performance.

This was scary for me. To think that after he had labored severally without thinking of the pain of his service, he would one day have someone rise up and say, “Thank you, but this is where the journey ends”. It is sad to think that after all the glory in the battlefield, after the endurance and the perseverance, after the defeats and victories, the foundations and pillars of sustenance that through your toil and sweat have been raised, someone would look you in the eye and say, “Bye”.

It naturally is hard to give your best years with evidentiary result of that effort to an organization, only for you to be laid off at the end because you have a down period in productivity. This is the reason why many have always chosen to leave and start their own organization due to fear of rejection at the end of their best effort.

The real pain does not come as a result of the black worded letter but really as a result of the feeling of betrayal. When you consider the value of your effort to the organization, in terms of the financial benefits that you had helped generate, and the unflinching loyalty you gave against everyone’s advice,  it sends shivers down your spine and makes it hard for others to give their best.

This was the way of life in the banking sector where job security did not exist yet the paymaster requires you to go beyond the boundaries to get results. They motivate you with the fear of losing your job, ask you to give a 150% of yourself,  if possible, while you are conscious that despite your efforts and wise ideas (which really is measured by the quality of the result of such ideas), you could still be laid off for non-performance. Eventually, we get to the point where most people are working at their own pace and unwilling to make necessary sacrifice with an eye outside looking for the next best opportunity (Greener Grass Mentality). 

If patience is a virtue, then why do most management personnel lack this virtue? Or is it just a disregard for the livelihood of others at the expense of the comfort of the big bosses who fly the most expensive jets. I mean, if they cut down their lifestyles just a bit, we would probably have enough to go round and not need to lay anyone off due in a bid to implement budget cuts.

  I met a man in my MD who generated motivation in the hearts of his staff via the sense of family. He is never to slow to encourage you and show you how valuable your contribution is to the Family (Organization), such that you walk feeling like you are part of something larger, part of a family who would watch your back as you tear forward into the forefront to fight the battles for the family, yet this same man would hand out letters to people telling them the journey ends here. There are quite a lot of literature on why bosses do what they do, however, I would want to focus on how we receive these actions of perceived betrayal.

I have come to realize that you never lose anything when you give your best to an organization. The only time you lose is when you refuse to fight. The period of loyalty and consistency in any organization helps polish your skills and opens you up to some beautiful networking relationship that you can draw on to start a new beginning. And bluntly stating, if you put in as much as 2 years in any organization and you have not at least improved on yourself or the quality of your network relationships, then really maybe you should consider resigning.

The pain and heartbreak of this perceived betrayal blinds you to the opportunity ahead, weakens your resolve, leaving you without the will to fight. I think more disappointing are those who watch your events and carry the pains to heart, stopping them from giving their best in the organization, thereby delaying and at times completely closing the futures doors of endless opportunities.

A story was once told about a servant who in response to his inability to perform the task given to him, said to his boss

“I know that you are a harsh and demanding boss who enjoys taking advantage of other people’s labor…”

He had been around a while and had let disappoint of other’s experiences affect his willingness to give his best, however, his fellow peers who presumably had also seen the same thing gave their best and were rewarded for it.

This is a simple case of transferred aggression, where a lady hates guys not because of her encounters but as a result of a close friend’s experience. It is rather pathetic because her friend would, due to her sweet encounter with love (no matter how brief) move on in search of that experience again while this lady denies herself the opportunity to Love.

How else would you explain that regardless of how painful the process of childbearing is, most women would want to have yet another child, while their friends or sisters who see them go through the process internalize the pain and some decide not to have children. The problem is that they did not see the joy and the growth of both child and mother that comes afterwards. They got off the experience train at the point of sighting the pain and concluded it was over, but there’s a lot more to the story than you can see.

Dwelling in the sadness associated with other’s bitter betrayal experience only prevents you from encountering the wonderful learning and growth moments that exist which you would have enjoyed if you gave your heart to your job. The ups and the downs are all part of this beautiful experience called LIFE.

So go on and LIVE it.