I remember when my first boss left my current gig. I'd been here for only three months and the learning curve was freaking me out on the inside. People told me that I brought a sense of calm to Cube City on the outside. Hagh! As if!
A few weeks after the dust settled from my first boss's departure, I received a calendar invitation from someone in the company I didn't know. The subject was something like, "Let's catch up." The meeting agenda couldn't have been more flattering:
- "I've heard so many great things about you."
- "I look forward to catching up and seeing how you're doing."
- "I've heard some of your great plans for the group and want to hear more."
But I accepted the invitation anyway. I went to the meeting to find two other people in the room who hadn't been on the original invitee list. A shade shady. I proceeded to hear all about what was wrong with my group from their perspective and how they expected me to turn it around. Oh, and by the way, my new boss was unveiled in that meeting and they all looked at me and demanded to know, right then and there, how I felt about it. (Um, thanks for the gang bang followed by the public forum, folks. I feel really special now.)
I was happy to absorb their input about my group. After all, I'm here to learn, to grow, to contribute. What didn't settle so well was their deceitful approach to lure me into a room. They all lost a little credibility with me because of how they handled themselves.
Cube City is crawling with ulterior motives. It's bad enough that people are paranoid about losing their jobs and/or their minds on a daily basis. Ulterior motives merely add fuel to the fire. I don't know why people can't say what they mean and mean what they say. The next time I receive a "Let's catch up" invitation, I'm going to reply, "No, thanks. I don't catch up anymore. I catch on."
1 comment:
That's just disgusting! Some people need a life!
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