Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Fired in Line of Duty

A friend I met through a consulting gig just got fired today. She called because she was worried about what she had or had not done right to get fired.

I told her we could go down that path. But it might be more helpful to realize that the job and the company had changed, and that the role she was required to fill did not now fit with her genius or her passion.

It’s hard to realize that the context we’re operating in is changing--as are we. When we start to feel friction, it’s because things that before weren’t rubbing up against each other, now are. It’s important to notice what’s causing the heat--see what fuel there is for us.

In this woman’s case, she was having trouble completing her tasks. Now, she’s more of a Starter personality type, full of ideas and vision, and less interested in the details, so she might have trouble finishing most things. But, now she was finishing less.
This lack of focus, or motivation, is usually as sign that you aren’t living your passion, and not working from your innate talents.

I don’t know this woman well enough to be certain of her innate talents, but she’s highly articulate, philosophic, and wonderful at building relationships. She was in Marketing--which seems right for her at first glance. She could have hired a Finisher for the details. But the actual daily work involved in the job changed--it went from idea generating and strategizing the plan to administering the plan. What the job needed now was more of an Administrator. Not an Idea/Relationship generator.

She lost energy and heart while filling out forms, writing direct mail, following up on process. Not surprising that things were left undone. Or that she got fired.

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