Sometimes we meet our new clients because they've been laid off without warning and they need a new job.
Ninety-five percent of the time when people call us to say "I lost my job yesterday" they also say "It came as a total surprise!"
A few months later, ninety-five percent of those folks say "Actually now that I think about it, there were signs."
Sometimes the layoff is a companywide or departmental thing, and sometimes organizations work hard to prevent any signs that an employee might notice.
Sometimes though, the issue is not a headcount reduction but rather bad chemistry between you and your boss.
We are so busy at work and at home that we can easily miss the signs that somebody above us at work is not happy with us.
If you get those signals, it doesn't mean that you're failing in your performance. It could mean that your boss has decided you're getting too much attention from the higher-ups or making him or her insecure in another way.
Fear is rampant in corporate and institutional life. Fearful managers are easily spooked. Typically there's a pattern to the relationship between you and your boss in these situations. The relationship starts out tremendously and then goes downhill.
At first when you are hired, your boss is overjoyed and praises you. He or she pats you on the back and tells you s/he is a genius for hiring you. A few months go by and you might want to stretch your wings or offer a suggestion about a better way to do something. Your boss might smile a little less broadly.
S/he might even say "We do it that way because that's how I like it, and in case you forgot, I run this department."
Uh-oh! Somebody is getting fearful!
Your flame may singe your boss in a way that makes him or her uncomfortable. Now you have to watch for signs, and if you see them, take action! Forewarned is forearmed, as they say. If you know things are dicey at your current job you can get your resume on the street and activate your network.
If you're blissfully unaware of a threat to your job security, you might walk into the office one day whistling and leave an hour later with your things packed in a box.
Here are seven signs your boss wants you out.
Not only did your boss give you the assignment, but s/he went into great detail about it and was very excited about the project at the time. Now it's as though you and s/he never spoke about it, and someone else entirely is on the project. Don't expect your manager to mention the switch -- just call your favorite headhunter today.
Don't We Usually Meet on Thursday?
Getting dropped from a meeting you've always attended is a sure sign you rankled at least one of the gods on Mount Olympus. You could ask your manager why, but you already know why -- somebody is threatened by your competence, confidence or both.
All Plans Are On Hold for the Duration
You and your boss laid out a shining vision for the way your role would evolve over time. What happened to the vision? If things aren't moving forward at the pace you and your boss agreed on, look for fear in the mix!
Gee, That Short Leash is Hurting My Neck
Your boss may have given you a lot of latitude to make decisions before. If your leash is suddenly cut in half, your boss may be uncomfortable with your comfort level at solving bigger and bigger problems. A confident manager would mention his or her concerns to you. A fearful one won't say a thing, but will start taking steps to let you know who's in charge.
Send Me a Copy Before You Send That Out
One of the things that can make a weak manager nervous is the strength of your relationships with other people, especially customers and higher-level managers. If you've been communicating with someone directly and your boss suddenly wants to see your email messages or client work before it goes out, that's a sure sign that your boss is having trouble with your growing influence.
Now Clean the Fireplace, Cinderella!
If your boss gets really afraid of you, s/he'll weigh you down with impossible assignments and a ridiculous workload in order to see you fail. ("That will take my overachieving employee down a peg!") You will work around the clock and never be done, and if you should get done your boss will come up with more pointless tasks to give you.
You can't win that game. Start looking for something new or go for the Third Path option and suggest to your boss that it might be easier for everyone for you to exit stage right.
You Can't Please Your Boss
The surest sign that you have triggered a fear reaction in your manager is that you go from golden child to persona non grata - and it can happen fast!
Within a month, you may go from private meetings strategizing with your boss to having your calls and email messages ignored, or having your boss breathing down your neck over nothing - or both!
That's okay. You are building new muscles. Not everyone can handle a person with a flame, and many bosses have made their careers on going with the flow and growing no flame at all. If you get bitten by the fearful-boss snake one time, you'll know what to look for and you'll avoid it the next time.
Life is all about learning! Keep this in mind, though: only the people who get you, deserve you!
