Strategy at its Best

 You “lost” your job. I don’t think so. You know where that job is. Think of it as the universe telling you it is time to “find” something even better. Trust divine order. 

~Mary-Frances Wintel

If you have worked for a government entity, chances are you are familiar when election time comes around. The top person has to run for re-election, then find that the election is over and a new top official is coming. Employees become nervous due to not knowing if they are let go. It is not an easy pill to swallow to be let go after many years of service.

I never thought this moment would come, but it has. I got fired on February 9, 2021, after eight years of service with the Osceola County Clerk of Court and County Comptroller. I was stunned and dismayed after the HR person delivered the news. 

The excuse I was given was that the new administration is restructuring the HR department where I was assigned. My position was eliminated. Thinking back, I saw it coming. My boss was let go, and the new boss stepped in and did everything by the HR playbook.

I, for one, was a loyal employee, not a troublemaker, and I did my job! I had a lot of time to think about things and how they occurred. In hindsight, it was all strategy. 

• The isolation, and being excluded from the department meetings. 
• Receiving work/ projects at the last minute to ensure the employee fails.
• Supervisors keeping workers at bay only to communicate when necessary. 
• Being told to do a presentation and not being briefed or included in the planning. 
• HR not being included in the planning to welcome the new administration, but having other department heads assisting in the welcoming. 

The reassigning of employees from other departments occurred countless times. It was a strategy at its best! As a disgruntled worker, you may see me that way, maybe so, but the irony of this story I knew the person at the top. I believe in giving the employee an opportunity and offer reassignment. The new administration offered no such courtesy. 

My takeaway from my recent experience is to be an advocate represent oneself first and foremost. Don’t be fearful of the outcome. At least you will know that you did everything possible on your behalf. If the organization you work for does not value you, they do not deserve you. It is not worth the aggravation or heartache in the long run. Be of service to others that will value your service.

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Don’t Be Fooled by the Average Bear

Have you ever encountered individuals that will look at you and assume that you have fewer smarts? Whether in the workplace or everyday life. Here is a clue: Don’t be fooled by the average bear.

All of my life, I have encountered individuals such as I have described. I figured out since I am, for the most part, quiet, an observer, and don’t give away too much. They automatically assume that you don’t have what it takes. 

The same individuals are surprised when you come up with the information they don’t know or discover your hidden talent. My talents? I blog, love taking pictures, crochet, dabble with online Karaoke, and follow the political arena to name a few. 

Reality check! There are other bears in the forest that are much smarter!

Don’t be part of a Telenovela

I want to begin with a question. How does gossip in the workplace start? One never knows who to trust and whom to confide in, in a work environment. On a personal note? My rule is to avoid becoming part of a Telenovela. It does not matter the length of time at your job; it is all the same. Gossip is gossip! Honestly, I have been pulled into the web of gossip, and I am here to say that it does not end well. 

I want to list a few things to keep as a reminder of what not to do.

1. Avoid Venting: The chances are that you will become peeved at something at one time or another. The automatic response is to unleash your frustration to a co-worker, not realizing that it can be used against you or taken out of context or worse. If you don’t want your personal stuff to circulate in the office, keep it to yourself. 

2. Avoid Triggers: Many times, someone will tell you. “I am going to tell something, but you can not repeat it.” That is your cue to pivot to something else. Chances are you don’t need to know whatever they want to tell you. Use the following mantra, “it is not their story to tell or yours!” This will not happen overnight. It takes practice over time. 

3. Don’t get sucked in: Don’t let the audience be you. You don’t have to be rude; gently excuse yourself or say you have a time-sensitive work assignment. 

4. Trust: If someone entrusts something in confidence. Don’t repeat it. Keep it in a mental safe deposit box in your head. It is not an easy task to do but with time; you can master the skill and avoid being part of a Telenovela. 

Good luck!

A Living Resume

Imagine wearing a multitude of hats in a history of jobs. That is what I call a living resume; a diverse background worked many positions. You would think that many will seek you out and hire you, but with approaching the age of 62, a question arises, am I marketable?

I love my job at the courthouse. The primaries just passed, we have a new clerk, and he plans on reassessing and reinventing the clerks’ office.

I invested eight years of my life; I love what I do, and to be perfectly honest, I don’t have the desire to start over someplace else, but if I had to, I would.

The following are my past employment: HR Business Analyst ( current ); HR Administrative Assistant; HR Administrative Aide; Special Projects Administrative Aide; Special Projects Administrator ( demoted from this position due to budget cuts); Elder Affairs Cares Assessor ( it was not a good fit); Pharmaceutical Recruiter; Treatment Coordinator; Targeted Case Manager; General Manager. And adding to that lineup is my educational history: I have a Bachelor’s in Business Administration, a minor in Human Resources, and an Associates in Community Mental Health, and there you have it.

There is no solution for this situation except being realistic, be proactive and look for work by dusting off my resume, and prepare myself. I will keep you all posted.

Thank you!

Time for Change

Did you ever wonder what kind of work will make you happy? I work and feel like there is so much more I can contribute, but leaders do not see me. And I am treated as though I a mere appliance, to take off the shelf as needed. They don’t care about my ideas or aspirations or solutions.

In my role, I push paper, file paper, contact employees and applicants, and at times are given a morsel of brain exercise, I get excited, and then to be let down.

I want to develop my creativity, I love to write, but even that is bland lately. I need something that will charge me up to the point of no return, to where I am passionate, obsessed, and full of enthusiasm.

My day job is working in Human Resources, but my position is not challenging. I need more, and there is none.

This feeling is not all of a sudden, and it has been a long time coming. I have not done anything about it, hoping for some miracle or change or fire to set off so my butt can move forward and form a new career path.

I have spoken about this topic before, and I still cannot get a handle on how to solve it. My ideal is to just get up and quit, but realistically I have bills to pay.

Are you taken seriously?

Are you are taken seriously? I have and my epiphany is that I am not looked upon as the go-to of knowledge. It is not for lack of intelligence, it is due to the way I am. I come across as the kidding around, jokey type. I am pretty easy going I am good-humored. As a person with ADHD, I guess I use humor as a defense mechanism and as a way of looking beyond a disability.

As a kid, and as an adult I was viewed the same way, although I was not diagnosed with ADHD until much later, but lately, I been self-reflecting. At work, I take responsibility for my actions. I have made a great stride to improve, but when it comes to serious work issues I am not the one that appears on the radar.

Just the other day I was onsite at work and we were all called upon to make a goodbye retirement video from all the employees to one of our employees. My coworkers viewed my video submission and began to make critiques and chuckle. In my defense, I outright told them, “at least I submitted a video, did any of you?” They responded, “no, and we don’t do videos.” I indirectly let them know, “you have no right to critique if you did not participate.” They left me alone after that and proceeded as though nothing occurred. Inside within myself, I was not happy and was disappointed at their reaction.

I have worked to self improve the way I am perceived by others through my blogging, doing leadership presentations, new hire orientations, and employee of the month presentations in my professional life.

I am not there yet and I feel there is so much left for me to accomplish. Stay tuned!

A Necessary Evil

“How we respond to something is just as important—if not more important—than our initial reaction.”
― Michael Thomas Sunnarborg, The White Box Club Handbook: Simple Tools For Career Transition

In many organizations, there are times where you have a decrease in the overall budgets and decisions made by the powers that be which are a necessary evil specifically when it comes to reducing the workforce. I always compare employment to marriage, you have a honeymoon, an adjustment period, and unfortunately for some, there is a separation or a divorce. Your employment is much like a marriage; no one wants to leave, but for much involved it is necessary.

My heart goes out to those dismissed from employment.  Just know that for every door closed, one opens. The time is now to strategize, to reorganize and come up with a plan B. You may be asking yourselves, what now? You have bills, food is needed and a family that depends on you.

While you adjust to the reality of your situation, don’t dismay! Things to consider:

1. File unemployment
2. Give yourself time to let it sink in if you are able.
3. Update your resume
4. Stay informed
5. Prepare yourself to begin job searching

If you received a severance packet, it would assist you while you are looking for new employment. Many resources will provide a benefit and will land you in the next chapter of your life. Best of Luck!

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Termination

Managers tend to treat organizations as if they are infinitely plastic.
They hire and fire, merge, downsize,
terminate programs,
add capacities.
But there are limits to the shifts that organizations can absorb.
– Kevin Kelly

There are multiple methods of termination, it is what you, the employer will follow that will determine the outcome. As an employer, you have the authority and a responsibility to conduct business promptly from onboarding to retirement.

Termination is psychologically painful and detrimental, but when the act is performed entirely in an unprofessional manner, then it is a problem! It is a task to be conducted with all involved to adhere to the same protocol starting from the very top, down to the very bottom of the employment chain. It sickens me when I witness an employee about to be terminated, and they are made to sit for an extended period in anticipation and not knowing what their outcome is to be. Tell me! Is that fair? By doing this, you are showing them that they are disposable, and didn’t matter regardless of the services they provided or the years invested in the organization!

I am an HR professional, and I can honestly say what happened was inexcusable with lots of sprinkles of unprofessionalism. I sat with this employee as she waited and waited. When it came time for the powers that be to meet with the individual? The task took well over a lengthy span of time.

Termination of an employee is not pleasant and is never a smooth process but following the proper procedure should be seamless to be carried out without a hitch, with no glitches, and staff must be ready at all cost!

Give the employee the dignity and the respect to exit employment once they leave their job life. Food for Thought!

Be Grateful not Entitled

You ever wondered how people has this sense of entitlement? No humility or gratitude for anything given I witnessed this first hand at my place of work; I was disheartened from what I saw. Employees not considering other employees, serving themselves multiple portions and not thinking about those that are scheduled to pick up their food at a later time. People making demands, not showing courtesy for their co-workers and some were even disrespectful to those that were helping with the luncheon. For that given moment I felt embarrassed and ashamed that I work in an environment such as this.

It was an appreciation luncheon for all the staff; they were told to come at their given lunch hour. A massive line formed at the first lunch break, it was as though the world was ending.  We knew that the workers standing on the line were not assigned that time frame. It took less than an hour for the food to be almost gone. We had no choice but to ration the trays that were left. It was shocking!

We later found out that the employees thought that the food would be gone, if not picked up early. In the past, we had time frames for lunch pick up and not had a problem. This time around the food delivered was from a well-known restaurant, and apparently, the employees jumped at the chance to get most of the delicious food. No Bueno!

I am resting now and am reflecting on today; again I feel that we have forgotten what is like to be grateful, kind and appreciative for the blessings that are given. I was brought up to be thankful for all things and not to demand anything especially free food. Food for thought!

7 Reasons Why Businesses Keep Secrets

The secret of business is to know something that nobody else knows.~ Aristotle Onassis

Often how we perceive things is not what it is when it comes to business secrets. As a regular worker, it may come across as a conspiracy when in actually it is strategic planning for the greater good of the organization.

There are seven reasons why businesses keep secrets:

1. You don’t know whether the thing is going to work or whether it will ever exist. A plan is in action; it won’t work or be successful, so it is important to work through it and bring to fruition.
2. Before being fully fleshed-out and explained about new information, it can lead to stress among the staff. During the restructuring of an organization or downsizing due to budget cuts. It is normal for staff to feel that they will be on the line, reassigned or if they are going to be laid off.
3. Making a splash in the press: The last thing an organization needs is the media getting a hold of what is in the planning.
4. Scheduling/ Launch Strategy: Plan, schedule when a change is going to take effect. We want to space stuff out so that there is plenty of time to begin new things, but also enjoy the things that have been around and successful and pleasant for a long time. It is also really nice to be able to launch something while people can participate in it.
5. Competitive Advantage: It is always nice to be the first to showcase something new that has not been done by anyone else. As a company grows, it is better to reveal in its own time.
6. Someone is making us: Investment is important and is one of the reasons for keeping that thing a secret like the above-stated comment.
7. Remaining cool: Being true to your organization is important and crucial. Avoid being discredited; it can make or break an organization.

Organizations have their methods of doing things; it is how you execute the change that will make all the difference and lead to success. Food for thought.

 

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