At the best of times, our career is a succession of good work and
good ideas, for which we are rewarded a good salary. Your work can
progress along without too much fear, angst or anger. Still, there
will be times when trouble can occur. Often, though, these are situations
that we can avoid, if we learn to recognize the warning signs. After
20+ years in the workplace, in both corporate and small businesses
and as an independent consultant, I have collected a number of situations
that almost always lead to trouble.
A Distorted Golden Rule
Treat others as you would like to be treated. It sounds like such
a simple rule, but there are some people that can fall into a distorted
practice of the rule. At first, it might seem like they are irrational,
but in their own heads, there is an odd sort of logic.
People who treat others with disrespect expect exactly the same behavior
in return. They treat any sign of conflict as a call to battle and
expect you to respond in kind. They expect you to try and damage
their reputation, their business, their life – mainly because
this is exactly what they would do in your situation. This is why
their response to conflict often seems extreme and out of control.
They are prepared for the worst because they often give the worst
to others.
As you can see, dealing with people such as this is almost impossible.
Trust and thought are thrown out in favor of fear and retribution.
It should be clear that you would be better off working with almost
anyone else. If not, you might find your own reputation smeared as
those around you attempt to salvage their own reputations, even if
you don’t intend to respond to their attacks. After all, it
matters little what you intend to do. They will always assume you
will attack using the very same methods.
`
There is another, sometimes related, situation that can also yield
career problems – working in a family business when you are
not a member of the family. Family businesses, much like families,
each hold their own, unique issues. Family issues can intrude on
the business and vice-versa. Decisions can be made for family reasons,
instead of business success and there are seemingly a hundred and
one ways for you, as an outsider, to be caught in the fray.
When business is good, and family relations are at their best,
business often precedes as usual. Employees and managers treat
each other
with respect, business decisions are made in a logical fashion
and everything advances smoothly. Unfortunately, it only takes
one small
issue, in the family or in the business, to wreak havoc.
Unknown to you, outside of the familial loop, trouble could be brewing.
Disagreements over business issues, family quarrels over unrelated
topics, divorces and other disagreements can quickly show themselves
in the office. Suddenly the president can’t get the finance
department to sign any checks. Equipment starts to disappear. Family
employees are absent for days at a time and you have no idea why
they are – or why they aren’t docked any pay when they
return.
The worst thing you can do in such a situation is try to act as mediator.
It is often said that factions will war among themselves until presented
with an outside threat to unify them. If you get involved in the
conflict, the warring parties can come to see you as an enemy. It
requires no imagination at all to see what will happen to your job
if this occurs. In the midst of a confrontation like this, every
action you take, every word you say will be weighed. With which faction
do you agree or disagree? Are you supporting your boss or your co-workers
who happen to be his children – or in-laws? In the end, family
will always take care of themselves first, so your job security is
at risk at all but the most successful times.
These are only two situations that can lead to career trouble,
but two that I have personally seen in action. Your career needs
to be
judged on the basis of the quality of your work, your thinking
and your integrity. Becoming involved in situations over which
you have
no control can only lead to stress, conflict and career problems.
If you see yourself becoming involved in these situations, you
need to quickly find a way out. Otherwise you may be risking
your entire
career.
Career
Opportunities
