Posts
What is a fearful manager's greatest fear? It's not that the business might fail. They could easily make excuses for that. They could say they were hamstrung by their Board of Directors or that the market collapsed out from under them. They could say any number of things.
They have a greater fear than their fear of business failure. Their greatest fear is that somebody working near them might challenge them, or show them up for being a dimwit! Ego is stronger than fear of business failure.
Lousy employees get promoted to lofty positions in fear-based organizations because they are non-threatening to the leaders. Non-threatening is the best thing you can be in a toxic environment. It's the principal job requirement.
If you pay attention in any fear-based environment you'll see that the people at the top talk a good game when it comes to business results but what they really care about is protecting their own turf and their own power base. They would much rather see the company collapse around them than to admit they were wrong, or admit they have no clue what they're doing.
That's how the weenie brain works!
In healthy companies, people debate issues. They know that smart people won't always agree. They expect dissent around any big management decision and they keep the lines of communication open. They don't silence people who disagree with them because they know that healthy debate is good for them and bad for their competitors.
In unhealthy companies, there is no debate. There is no dissent. If you don't toe the party line you get fired. If you can't stand the dysfunction for another minute, you bail. That's why the best employees always quit first. They have the most confidence, and the most job opportunities in other firms.
The fearful employees stick around. It's hard to see our own fear when we are in the middle of it. Now that you're out of that toxic environment, look back at your fear. Don't be ashamed of it. We all feel fear at times. Pay attention to your fear so you can learn from it. What made you hesitate to job-hunt until Pam told you about the consulting gig?
Maybe your brain was telling you one of these lies:
1) The devil I know is better than the one I don't.
2) I hate my job but at least I know how do the job. If I start something new, I might fail!
3) This job isn't THAT bad. No job is perfect. Why should I start over now?
Fear is the membrane we all need to step through to continue on our path, and to get stronger.
Every time you step out of your comfort zone, it feels scary -- but it only feels scary the first time you step into new territory!
Now that you're going to be consulting for a whole year, your muscles will get huge. You're not so likely to get stuck in a bad environment again. You'll remember how painful it felt to sit at your job wondering why you felt so angry and helpless.
You weren't helpless but in a toxic environment, it's easy to feel that way!
Your consulting gig is going to pay good money. Squirrel some of that money away!
Don't ever get stuck in the situation where you have to keep a lousy job because otherwise you won't be able to pay your bills.
Put away at least ten percent of your income so you have a cushion. It seems hard to save money when there are so many bills to pay and so many cool things you could do with every paycheck, but remember -- freedom is the coolest thing you can buy!
Liz Ryan (Forbes) [In letter to Glenn]
Comments