They Fired Me and I Thanked Them
A former boss boasted on LinkedIn that she had fired me.
She didn’t refer to me by name, but she used her side of the story to try to showcase her excellent leadership skills. As you can imagine, my perspective was a little different and now I am sharing my side of the story.
In her post she outlined that my heart wasn’t in the job, that they had to make the difficult decision to fire me and when they finally cut me loose, I thanked them.
All of this is correct.
During just 60 days of working there they had micromanaged my every move, had a VP trail me closely and tried to nail me on a technicality stating that I went against their “brand guidelines.”
The truth was they were looking for a reason to fire me and they were trying to defame my character in the process, so they could point to something that would deny my right to unemployment.
Quite frankly, I was too expensive, their agency was too new, and their team was way too small for what they were trying to accomplish each week.
Well, game recognizes game. After 12 years in corporate positions, specifically in toxic agency atmospheres, I knew exactly what they were trying to do.
So, “I went to the mattresses” – yep, for all you Godfather fans - its a term from the movie that means - I began to prepare for a battle.
I started by getting everything in writing, created a folder to timestamp it all and consulted with my own Career Coach about my next steps.
To combat the technicality, I specifically sent an email to my boss to apologize in writing and ask her for a copy of the “Employee Handbook” or “Brand Guideline,” which I didn’t receive at the start of my employment. Surely, in that document it would state if I had gone against any company rules.
But of course, she couldn’t provide me with one.
They hadn’t created it yet. I guess in starting their new agency the human resource department was last on the list. Meaning their technicality was in their heads, not on paper and didn’t hold any legal water.
Checkmate.
My plan was to just hang in there, be on my best behavior, not let them corner me or collect any good reasoning– that way when they did fire me, I could collect the unemployment that I DESERVED.
So yes, when the day came that they cut the cord – I thanked them.
I thanked them for letting me go from yet another toxic workplace situation.
I thanked them for helping me dodge a bullet of a ‘gotchya’ environment.
I thanked them for showing me their true colors from the start.
And I thanked them for supporting my unemployment until I could find something better.
Unfortunately, this is just one of many instances where I was treated unfairly in the workplace and one that is not uncommon for others. It was ironic that I was experiencing yet another toxic circumstance right in the middle of a workplace revolution - when people were mass exiting jobs, and speaking out about being treated badly.
It reminded me of why I began my journey to create my coaching business, Curves Ahead, and fueled this very “Deskside with Melissa” project.
At this point, I am tired of remaining silent and letting others tell their side of the story while mine hangs in the balance. Today, I have a newfound mission:
To help women practice self-love in the workplace so they can recognize their potential, stand up to injustice, develop the careers and personal lives they crave, unlike the burnt-out supervisors and managers that came before them.
I will be sharing many more of these stories and the stories of my coaching clients and colleagues in an effort to help others not feel so alone or ashamed of forced setbacks or unfair encounters. We’ll also showcase how you can craft a career that you're proud of no matter the experiences you've endured in the past.
Remember, your self worth can not be found in any one job title or position.
We have the power to change our lifestyle which includes avoiding toxic workplaces, searching for perks beyond the paycheck and realizing our deepest passions in order to love what we do.