Belief Makers

Usually, I love my job. I spend most days helping business leaders translate their business strategies into reality through their people. Lately, I have been challenged in a different way. I have spent the last three weeks telling people that they no longer have jobs and explaining the details of their notice period, severance, and benefits. In addition, (since I am now doing 2 jobs) I have been working with leaders in a newly created business to build their people strategy. The irony of the situation is that the newly created business is all about selling parts of the businesses where the jobs no longer exist. In one moment, I am telling people who really want their job that they don't have one and in the next moment, I am telling people how the job they have has changed and in most cases is a job they don't want. To complicate things a bit more in a highly beaurocratic, risk averse, 200 year old company, the person delivering these messages (me) happens to believe that this is the best thing that could possibly happen to each person I talk to. The challenge is..... no one believes me.

I am used to the fear response when people are told that they no longer have a job but the fear response from the people who have a job but are anticipating that their jobs will go away some day has been very insightful for me. After all, don't most jobs go away some day? In the case of the new business (run off) everyone actually has more information than most people have in their everyday lives about the longevity of their particular job. Given the fact that most of us don't have the ability to see into the future, in the abscence of this information, we make it up. Many of us to chose to make up that our jobs will be there tomorrow. This is actually helpful in many ways. It is also not so helpful in many ways too.

I have been inspired by three amazing colleagues who were all recently told that they no longer have jobs. They were informed in different ways with different timeframes resulting in different feelings of anger, resentment, self doubt and fear. All three of them put their own emotions aside long enough to bond together and offer encouragement to one another. What blossomed was an amazing expression of gratitude for each other but most importantly for themselves. The bond of losing their jobs together helped to spark a deeper and more profound friendship as they each challenged one another to go for their dreams, challenge their beliefs, and have fun. This bond was not created through empathy, understanding, and simply listening (which is how many people are taught is what you are supposed to do in this type of situation), it was created through active challenge, believing in one another, and love. I found one of the most profound challenges of the day was a simple question "why aren't you taking your own advice?"

My challenge to all of you this week is to take one thing that is of great importance to you (your job, relationship, money, eyesight, physical ability, etc) and imagine that one day you wake up and it is gone. What would you change about your life today if you knew something of great importance to you would be gone tomorrow? How is "perceiving stability" of it helping you in your life? How is not helping you in your life?

Love to all ! and a very special thanks to Cheryl, Mary, and Kathy for being my inspiration this week!

Kathy