Guidance I’ve Learned From Being Fired….

Caution: I am writing about something I wish NO ONE ever needed!

I’m coming into my 11th year in the commercial construction industry and that now encompasses having worked for one general contractor and as of two days ago three sub-contractors. It may seem like a lot of employers however bear in mind, the average worker today stays at each of his or her jobs for 4.4 years, according to the most recent available data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but the expected tenure of the workforce's youngest employees is about half that.

Ninety-one percent of Millennials (born between 1977-1997) expect to stay in a job for less than three years, according to the Future Workplace “Multiple Generations @ Work” survey of 1,189 employees and 150 managers. That means they would have 15 - 20 jobs over the course of their working lives!

As I was getting ready for work earlier this week, I always have the KTLA morning news on (best group in Southern California IMHO) and I heard the news, “the Kings announced that coach Darryl Sutter and president/general manager Dean Lombardi have been fired”.

Sutter took over the Kings during the 2011-12 season, leading the No. 8 seed Kings on a dominant 16-4 run to their first championship. In 2014, he led the Kings to their second title in a different way, becoming the first team to win three Game 7s en route to the Stanley Cup Final.

Three years later, Coach Sutter and president/general manager Dean Lombardi were shown the door.

Unfortunately in today’s world of professional athletics, it happens to coaches, administrators and executives more than it should. It has become part of the business. The money is so big in athletics that it is easy to buy someone out. It has become increasingly easy to blame someone else. Also, many times a change in leadership leads to a new boss wanting to bring in his own people, and fire people he / she does not know. And lastly, there are times when someone has not lived up to the expectations set for them, or lapses in judgement have made it necessary to be let go.

Personally, the news of Coach Sutter and Dean Lombardi’s firing resonated with me as it triggered something someone had said to me very recently, “Jim, it’s what have you done for me lately”.

Like in sports, I found the commercial construction industry can mirror it in many ways. It’s performance driven, it's high risk/high reward, and it’s competitive.

I have been here a few times in my career and learned a lot during these trying times.

The following are some of the lessons I have learned and would like to share with you.

1.           WELCOME TO THE CLUB

It is a large fraternity of salespeople, managers, or executives who have been fired at some point in their careers. Look at sports as an example; some of the greatest coaches and players in history were fired at some point. Don’t be embarrassed by it – you need to believe that what you lost simply made room for the new things in your life.

2.           IT HURTS

When you get told you are out, it hurts. If you have passion and care about your job, it should hurt. It is okay to be wounded. Just don’t let it be a mortal wound. Don’t wish to change the situation, make the situation change you for the better!

3.           DON’T BE SHOCKED

For the most part, you should probably not be shocked. Many times you probably saw it coming, and just did not figure your boss would do it to you when they did.

If it was not an egregious error on your part, there was likely tension with, or decreased communication from, your boss prior to you being let go.

What can overwhelm you is how much it hurts; how your pride and ego are bruised; and how much you wish you'd have left on your own accord before you actually got fired.

4.           BE GRACIOUS AND TAKE IT LIKE A PROFESSIONAL. BUT, DON’T LET THEM BEAT YOU UP!

Be classy, and don’t say something you are going to regret. Get out of making it hurt you more than it will already.

I have learned that you will get let go in one of two ways. One is that it will get very personal, and you will be attacked in a way that can cause you to lash out. Be careful in this case….it will be easy to say things that you will regret.

The other way you will get released is “because we are going in a different direction.” In that case you will possibly hear, “You did a GREAT job here. Or you worked really hard. Or you were very professional…..” In that case, I would advise you to just stop the conversation in a polite manner and get out of the meeting. If you were so good; worked so hard; were so professional, etc. you would not be getting let go. Those reasons won’t make you feel better about how this is going down.

They may want you stay on a little longer, make a 'smooth transition'; when it's over, it's over baby...pack it up quick and hit the road.

You can come out of most any situation bitter or you can come out better. Even when being let go; grow from it and come out better!

There’s a quote I came across the other day that goes like this, “If you can meet triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same”.

Separate of the outcome, win or lose, did you give it your all? Did you do your best? If you did, keep your chin up, and embrace the next challenge. I’m sure Coach Sutter and Dean Lombardi are feeling the same way this week.