Getting a Do-Over - I Should Have Quit before I Got Fired (Part Deux)

Getting a Do-Over - I Should Have Quit before I Got Fired (Part Deux)

AS SOPHIE told me her story, I flashed back to the faces of people I have fired over the past twenty years. From young, promising kids with MBAs to men with twenty years’ experience in their field—it didn’t matter how old they were or what had gone wrong—letting someone go is always gut wrenching. The firing itself was usually the first step in their personal recovery. The hard part was watching their self-confidence evaporate before my eyes as they tried, flailed, and failed. When I met with them to deliver the news, I would tell them, “This is not about you; it’s about the job,” but that truth never seemed to sink in right then.

So I asked Sophie what advice she has for other women who might suffer from bruised and beaten self-esteem due to a job description that doesn’t fit them well. She shared these two important tips:

You can’t work hard enough, long enough, or pretzel yourself into weird enough positions to please everyone. Trying to do so is the surest road to career (and life) disaster—not to mention high blood pressure, weight gain, and “victim” thinking.

Don’t confuse organizational fit with personal worth. Whether or not you’re right for a given organization has nothing to do with your value as a human being—despite what others might tell you.

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. (Psalm 46:1-2)

Girlfriends, you are not your job. You are wonderfully made by Christ himself. He may simply not have made you for this job!