Part 2 — How Not to Get Fired!
Continuing from Part 1…
https://pen-redink.medium.com/part-1-how-not-to-get-fired-1537c5dcaf5b
Not Delivering as Per the Role
For lucky few who are given meaty roles; are made part of a project; or put in special initiatives — please be doubly cautious. Why?
Ask yourself. Do you have the skill, the time & the will to deliver? Are you over stuffing yourself?
When you get such wonderful opportunities, it is a great affirmation of your capability, the managerial trust, and it is indeed a moment of pride. You naturally say yes in the spur of the moment, euphorically, for being “selected for the initiative”.
If things fall through the crack later, people will come back with “mentoring”, “tips” and “inputs”. One way to deal with this situation is to visualize what people may say about your role and contributions project in, say, 3–6 months.
Also check the organization performance management system to see the expectations from you then build agreement with clients, manager, team and optionally HR.
Not Delivering as Per the Designation
If you are hired as ‘Manager’ by designation, you may be expected to manage a team of people, and deliver multiple projects. Many organizations, shockingly, expect you to magically know and deliver to the managerial expectations. Before they become your peril, it will be a good idea to sit with your supervisor and ask what is expected from your “managerial” capabilities.
If there is a “Managerial Attributes Competency System” in your organization, please read it and seek clarifications from the applicable teams — usually Human Resources.
Finally, clearly document your understanding and minute it. Remember you can remind people about agreements only if you have it in writing.
Not Meeting Implicit Expectations
Sorry, there is no magic rule to solve this. If you are gifted with sensing what clients and stakeholders are implicitly expecting then you are genuinely blessed.
When you sense unsaid expectations then paraphrase and seek an agreement upfront. Document thereafter. Assuming is never a good idea. We have all felt this several times and yet we continue to fall into the trap of the expectations.
It is important to point that some standard traits are expected from all of us such as — extending courtesies to the clients, to be punctual, be preemptive etc. None can or should coach you on this — you will have to just trust your hunches on this one. You can hone this by being alert, by being engaged into the present moment and not missing out a word. Take notes, as many as you can. If stakeholders permit, you can record the meetings.
Not Maintaining Good Relations with Peers
For organizations, where peers also share appraisal feedback on you, or your peers have been in the organization longer than you then they may have associations and networks that may not be apparent to you.
So, ensure that you treat your peers more than just colleagues — treat them as your internal clients.
Many organizations formally follow a process system where each employee is an internal client to each other. This way, hopefully, you will take your relation and commitments with your peers seriously and enjoy the fruits of your performance. I don’t have to tell you what missed expectations or professional peer jealousy is. Don’t be paranoid though.
Not Maintaining Good Relations with Subordinates
These is the easiest. If you cannot drive your team to march with you, to align with you, to drown and swim with you then you have no business to be in a leadership role or being part of that team. Sooner or later, people will revolt and essentially ask a different leader. There are several parallels in which organization psychology resembles the people behavior of a democratic society setup.
In situations where your relations with your team deteriorate beyond repair then your manager and HR may jointly communicate a decision to move you to a different team.
While this is not equal to losing your job, it is a significant dent on how your perception and for sure it affects your appraisal. Of course, you forget a salary raise or the juicy annual bonus.
Not Maintaining Good Relations with Manager
Need I say anything? 😊 If you are one of those who doesn’t believe in investing in your most important client — your manager, the probability of being away from the limelight, nominations for awards, a promotion, a raise will pretty much appear to a distant dream. Worse, if you are upfront, brutally honest, speak your mind too freely and challenge your manager then may God help you.
All the management books, that teach and preach freedom of expression with your manager are wrong. Don’t make this career damaging move. Ever.
Not Maintaining Good Relations with The Business Partners
This is especially true for organizations in the manufacturing sector where a healthy supply chain is the soul for success. Suppliers and partners provide you raw material, ancillary components or kits may at times be delayed or inadvertently supply items that don’t meet specifications. Now, in a situation like this, would you patiently work with them? would you give a piece of your mind to them?
This is a tricky decision because your customers might be impatient with you too. Make this choice carefully. If you push your partners to the wall then sooner or later this news and discomfort will travel to your corporate echelons, causing adequate grief to you.
Relations with partners must be nice and strong. Be mindful that we could all be in the same situations we find our partners in so build patience, tolerance and resilience.
Not Accepting Work Critical to Organization
We have career aspirations, we want to invent, research, design, implement and do a lot more! What if your organization suddenly gets a project where they need people to chip in? What is the project is critical to survival of the organization?
Projects are an undertaking with a well-designed time period. That means it has a start date and end date. We may not always get projects to do what we love. It is in times like these that your organization expects you to step forward and contribute. It is especially true for growing organizations or the ones that are on the brink. When we don’t support the organizations that puts food on our table in the moments they need us, we are being selfish and rigid.
To solve this, consider agreeing to a start and an end date on your project involvement instead of saying a blunt no.
Will you be reprimanded for saying no to serve your own needs? Or are you likely to be rewarded, respected and retained when you say yes in your organization’s calamitous moments?
Part 3 follows soon.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are my own.
