My redundancy reflection

The next big change in my life came when my role was made redundant. It’s fair to say that my role had changed considerably leading up to that decision, when my focus had been public speaking and working with people on a heart-and-soul level. In hindsight, it really was the beginning of Business from the Heart. Redundancy was a shock at the time. My work relationship had ended; it was extremely final. I was called into my manager’s office and given a verdict with no choice in the matter and that was that. I didn’t have a job, I was on my own, and I didn’t have a plan for the future. 

It raised some deep insecurities and tested my thoughts about work, and indeed about myself and my abilities. The thought, ‘wasn’t I good enough?’ burned in my brain as I wrestled with the ‘why me?’ question. Why was I separated out and removed from this role after I had committed my whole life to the company? It was a difficult time filled with sadness. However, I chose to rise above any self-doubt and move on. My mum was one of the people who really stood by my side at this time, and pain taught me that family and friends are the only constant in our lives and, more significantly, not to bank on the temporary world of commerce to fill your sense of belonging.

It was April 2014, after twenty-seven years with the same company and having a solid record of high performance, when my role was made redundant. Like many people in this situation, I took it to heart and it had a profound effect on me at the time. I found redundancy a heavy burden to bear and initially it was difficult not to cast a whole lot of self-doubt upon myself at the time. It took some time, but it was important for me to step back and put things into perspective. 

However, part of the redundancy package was an offer to attend career-transition classes and meet with other like-minded individuals in the same situation. Through taking the job-transition course I realised that, in the corporate world, job roles – not people – are made redundant. It became important for me to understand that it was my position or job that had been made redundant and not me, the person. The job-transition course taught me that my worth as a person hadn’t changed. I discovered there was a difference between the person I was and the things that I did. Of course, at the time this was much easier to say than believe, and for me, one who had placed my value so highly on what I did, it was a hard pill to swallow.

Experiencing the pain of redundancy was a waking moment in my heart, and it was during this time that I was at my most vulnerable, and yet at a conscious state of learning. I felt myself growing, developing, and remoulding my journey after experiencing redundancy. 

The simple word ‘redundant’ implied that I was no longer needed by the company and was superfluous. Statistics show that the average person will experience job redundancy up to three times during their career. How I dealt with the challenge was really an important, life-changing choice – my important choice. 

This redundancy reflection also caused me to reflect on business in a more philosophical way, and I realised business is just a game. I hope you don’t feel I am trivialising business by this statement? It may be one of the most important games you ever play. However, I realised that my role while on the playing field was to work with my team mates in harmony, and our objective was to get the ball into the goal net at the end of the field. It didn’t matter which position I played, whether it was general manager, janitor, sales representative, or accountant; my role was to play as a part of the team to achieve that end goal.

The realisation that took place for me at the end of the game was that a new coach had stepped onto the field and the role that I was serving didn’t fit with the new direction the company was taking. Therefore, my role was made redundant. At that point, my time playing for that team was over and I had to seek out a new field to play on. The most heart-warming thing for me though, was when I finally walked off that field after twenty-seven years, and there was my mum waiting for me with open arms. I realised we play on the business playing-field, but real life, family and friends are what stay with us permanently. The playing field of business beyond that is only temporary. 

The good news is that we are our own best hope to change anything, and often that change can only come from somewhere within. It’s a place I call the Heart. 

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