This is the time of year when upper management takes a look at the year ahead and decides to makes some changes. This usually means that it's time to cull the herd.
It's not easy for them- or maybe it is- but it has to be done, in their estimation, to move the business forward in the direction that they want it to go. There's no room for pity and so the cuts are made and the affected players leave the stage.
I hate to see this sort of thing happen but I've seen it many times. In a place I once worked, there was always a question whether or not I would survive the annual round of cuts, but I somehow did. Others did not. I heard about what happened to them, how their lives after working at the company were fairing, but not for long. They disappeared, blended back into the workforce in some other way.
So I've been there. I have experienced the dread, many times.
There is a lack of trust that gets developed when you witness this sort of thing firsthand. Despite what you think are your best efforts, somebody higher up might think differently and there's no negotiating once they've made their decision. It's clean out your desk, you've got fifteen minutes, and then 'off the property' you go. It's quite humiliating, I imagine, to be walked out the door, blindsided, with a box of your things in your hands.
Or to have to give up the company car you've been tooling around in and be chauffeured home.
Those that remain are nervous, on their best behavior, and are exemplary team players- for a while- 'till the old acrimony and infighting resurfaces. But that's healthier than pretending that they all like each other and are getting along famously.
We rock
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Having witnessed this over and over, methinks there must be a better way. Rather than things coming to a head, the result of the affected ones' making poor choices, being a wrong fit, becoming overwhelmed, being abrasive, and all the rest, what would it be like to work on real team? One that is functional, driven, capable, amazing? These exist. What makes those ones work and the other teams fail? What is their secret, their method of interacting? How do they address issues? Surely they could give the many struggling teams pointers.
I know that there are tons of management books out there that talk about this but I don't want book learning, I've had enough of that. I want to get this right right off the bat right now. In order to grow my vision, I need to get on the right team. How is this going to be made manifest? Mission statement? Cash flow? Serendipity? Synchronicity? Right timing? All of the above?
It's hard to Make It Happen solo. With the right team.......
....the sky is the limit.