It happened to me! I feel like 2020 is the year of a lot of firsts LOL but I’m here to help you through it. It’s tough, I know and I hope my story grants you insight and inspires you to not give up.
I knew the day was coming, I just didn’t know when. My time as a Manager definitely allowed me to raise the bar for myself both professionally and personally.
Personally, this opportunity was everything I asked the universe for. And to add the cherry on top, I eventually had direct reports. You see my position did not have any direct reports when I started. In hindsight, it was a great experience, but it was also a manipulative move on my leader’s part to hang fruit over my head.
Professionally, here’s what I learned!
Lesson 1: Don’t look to your leader to be your mentor. Learn from them.
She treated my former co-worker poorly; I had a visual representation of what I would experience if things took a turn for the worse. And it did! I had many balls to juggle, as a new manager, I was learning how to manage my employee’s, directors, supervisors expectations as well as my own. It does not help when a leader says they will support you and their actions fail to measure up. Hence, things started to fall apart. Although it was chaotic, everything was actually falling into place. When you get a feeling in the pit of your stomach when an experience or person is no longer serving you, listen to it.
Lesson 2: You’ve been let go, now what? Take Care of Yourself and Leave Well
Take time for yourself to process what you’ve just experienced. Surround yourself with loved ones that will lift you up and remind you of your self-worth. It is also prime time to contact your professional mental health counselor or career coach that can provide assistance in aiding you to process what led to this experience and help in accepting your experience clearly and objectively.
Leave on a good note. The experience may be a bitter one, however, you don’t know how these people you once called colleagues will show up in your journey. I hope you’ll always have the upper hand. It makes a difference and rightfully so, these may be the same individuals that you’ll need to call on for a favor. That may come in the form of a reference or simply the connections your new employer has. The world is a small place and you don’t want your former employer speaking ill of your character.
Lesson 3: Beware and Adjust Accordingly
When you’re in a leadership role, it hits different when you’re let go, at least for me it did. Being fired comes with certain perks or in certain cases, you can ask for a severance package. The three arsenal things everyone should have in their lives: is a lawyer, a physician, and a psychiatrist. I needed a lawyer to review my severance agreement to help me understand the legal jargon embedded within the agreement. I was given seven (7) days to process, review, sign, and return it. This was not enough time. I later learned that I should have asked for more time [to review] and money to cover my living expenses for sixteen (16) weeks versus eight (8) weeks, especially during a global pandemic...
Stay tuned for the remaining lessons!
Share below you're termination experiences and how you pulled through in the comment section!