Assume the Best

Ever walked away from a conversation and felt on top of the world? Great connection! Great launch! Great...

Joan Perry and I are launching Walk The Journey, and as we navigate our own paths, we openly discuss our experiences. This week, we'll be posting Steps 3 and 4 of the Heroine's Journey. We hope you join us... we are enjoying the conversations that are growing each week.

There seems to be a push/pull law in the universe. When we stand for something greater than ourselves or push ourselves into a new comfort zone, there is a force that seems to pull us back—challenging our stance.

This week, I faced a challenging conversation. My supervisor pointed out, "Barbara, you do not always assume the best." I always act professionally and do not argue, so I opted to listen for more insights. I was provided three examples in which I have not demonstrated assuming the best.

First, yesterday, all of our hours were removed from the schedule. An estimated thousand experts were given a small rowboat to jump into to grab hours for a schedule that only accommodated a handful of slots (no hours, no pay), even though we have had the same schedule for 3+ years. The boat sank many were left completely off the schedule.

Second, back in the fall, my prior manager anonymously reported that I committed fraud, as retaliation for being granted access to move to another team. Ethics contacted three peers from a former team and three peers on a team that I was to be assigned to but had not been yet. Ethics informed them that I had committed fraud. As a professional, I contacted ethics and introduced myself and asked what I had done and how to correct. After months, ethics finally stopped responding to my requests for clarification. There was no fraud. They committed cyber-bullying by using electronic devices to inform coworkers of acts that never happened. They got caught.

Third, for 36 days around the Christmas holidays, I was locked out of my work PC known as an OED. Day after day, I badged in and out of work, checked in with my manager, and submitted worked hours. At the point that the lockout became a constructive termination, with no access to work tools, a non-responsive manager, and no pay, I contacted leadership. Within 30 minutes, my access was turned back on, and my paycheck was in the mail. The only response I received from my manager was a note that said what I did was not fair.

With these three examples, I thought, no reasonable human being would think that the actions that work is carrying out are healthy, supportive, and certainly not legal. I often say work has rules, I follow the rules, but so must the company.

The conversations were not great, supportive or even grounded in truth. How could I find a way to assume the best? Honestly, my desire is to remove myself from the toxic environment, to quit. But, like you, we have responsibilities. Just because something does not go our way or is not fair, does not mean we can quit.

So Joan and I are launching Walk The Journey, so we can find balance, harmony, and sanity in our homes, our workplaces and our country. And if they are crazy, then grant us the opportunity to quit and create our own sandbox.

By the way, I did assume the best. I know that this is just a battle and the war has already been won. The battle is between principalities, not between flesh and blood. I know who I am, and I know that these challenges are gifts as they help strengthen my character. Curious how you would have assumed the best?