Loss

I’m in the curious position of being involved in a senior manager having been asked to leave the company. At this level people aren’t fired, they are asked to compromise. Lawyers are involved, tidy sums of money exchanged, and words around the leaving are carefully crafted to assure no vocal position of blame or censure.

It ain’t like this for most. I have some sympathy, the man is 59 and will be unlikely to be hired full time again. Saying that, there’s a good market in what’s known as interim management where you get paid a lot of money for generally short periods of work. He won’t be hard up financially, though I can’t speak for emotionally.

My sympathy stops around behavior. He’s being awkward at every turn, telling people its a mistake, that wrack and ruin will follow. I can’t help but think how I’ll behave in the same circumstance (because I’ll be very lucky indeed if it doesn’t happen to me sometime). I wouldn’t act like he is, you put on your best smile, be as helpful as possible, and exit as gracefully as allowed.

On the flip side I’m having to deal with the fall out. I’m managing his team while we go through a reorganisation, am dealing with all the issues that are coming out of the woodwork, and generally not having a good time. Its not easy, for him, for me, for the staff. Yet, as hard as it is, its the right decision for the business. Things change, you adapt, and carry on. Such is life…