Dismissal is not the end of the world

Of course, dismissal is a failure. But any failure can provide new opportunities.

When in 2001 Cheryl Bachelder has served as President of fast food giant KFC, it seemed to her that she had achieved the main goal in life. Three years later, after a period, which she describes as 14 months "monstrous" profits, Bachelder for the first time in his entire career was out of work. She was fired.

Bachelder recalls: "When that happens, you really go crazy and are looking for someone to throw all the blame. There was a time when I really focused on that."





Bachelder engaged in the business. She began to spend more time with children. She collaborated with the leadership of large companies, including the main competitor of KFC — Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. But most importantly, she realized that she should not blame others that have lost their jobs.

In 2007, the Board of Directors of Popeyes chose a new President. Bachelder, who said that it intends to learn from old mistakes, got the highest position in the company. She says:

"I just came up with a completely different idea of what success is. I realized that a true leader makes me not that successful myself, but if I can help to succeed to people around me."

The new approach worked. By the time Bachelder headed the company, Popeyes seven years in a row reported a decline in sales — its menu has become boring to customers. But under the leadership of former President KFC Popeyes revenues have steadily increased for six years. Other fast food chains such as McDonald's and Burger King are struggling to make ends meet, and Popeyes is beginning to open new points abroad.

Not every Manager gets in a similar situation, but many leaders one way or another are faced with professional ruin. The options are numerous: loss of stock, budget cuts, high-profile projects that have moved to another Department, or lost customers. Many of the best managers had to go through considerable difficulties, and sometimes through public censure, before to achieve success.

Sherry Thatcher, Professor of business administration at the business school named Moore the University of South Carolina in the United States, says: "If you take the Manager post, you will certainly have to deal with setbacks. But when it happens, it is important to be able to see the failures of new opportunities."

How to respondyou first need to realize that it's not necessarily about you.

Thatcher says: "If you were not given a welcome boost if your project is not approved, the easiest way to decide what your leadership abilities are not appreciated." The Professor believes that instead, you need to recognize your bad luck and consider all the other factors that led to this decision. She says:

"It always seems to me this will not happen, if I'm smart enough and hardworking, you'll always be safe. Everything in life is wrong."

J. P. Pawliw fry, President and co-founder of the Institute for health and human potential in Ontario, believes that the most unpleasant in such moments can be worrying about the professional image. Rejected the Manager may feel that colleagues and employees condemn it and, worse, lose confidence in him as a professional.

There is no doubt that these emotions can be extremely difficult, sometimes less than the death of a loved one, says Pawliw fry. It is important to find a good therapist, someone with whom you can talk about what happened. However, for the Manager also it is important to think about how the environment will react to his behavior.

These pivotal episodes — the phone call that brought bad news, or the time when the personnel Director handed you a package of documents for dismissal are hard to forget. Our brain often saves a failures in memory more readily than pleasant memories. It's our way to learn from mistakes, says Pawliw fry.

  It is therefore important to learn the lesson and start thinking about what will happen next. Remember that Steven Spielberg was thrice denied in film school before he was accepted, or that Oprah Winfrey was fired from her first job as a TV presenter.

Accepting what happened to you, you should try to remain calm, says Thatcher. If you, the head of the Department, has just refused to increase, acknowledge that you are not lucky. If you do not, your employees may decide that you are offended and ready to jump ship, and this may affect their work and have a negative impact on you as the Manager.

For managers operating on international level, it is important to understand how your failure will be evaluated by the employees of foreign subsidiaries. In Asia, says Thatcher, the companies are not disclosing that several people vying for one job, to those who are not good enough, have escaped public censure. In Europe and North America struggle to raise between managers often takes place very publicly. This means that if you do not receive a place your employees in Germany will expect from you quiet the analysis, and the office in China will think that you have to show regret and even shame.

To return to the top Experience dismissal opened Bachelder a whole new way to manage staff. When she joined Popeyes, its main aim as Director was to teach employees to succeed. Bachelder says:

"I ask them: "Why are you here? What takes its place?“. If one day to help the person understand why he even goes to his job, it will be much easier to find motivation and to imagine what it looks like success". published

P. S. And remember, just changing your mind — together we change the world! © Join us at Facebook , Vkontakte, Odnoklassniki

Source: insider.pro/EN/article/58082/