The new boss, Janet Haskins, strode in royally into a meeting and professed her abiding faith to transparency, openness, and telling like it is.  The meeting was about staffing requirements to submit to the home office.

When it was my turn, my boss asked, “John, how many more heads do we need in professional services?”

In the spirit of honesty, I said: “Well, Janet, in reality, given the weak pipeline we are overstaffed in professional services. At least 50% of the staff is idle about 50% of the time, and we are struggling to keep them busy.”

Everyone else has come up with additional staffing needs except my department.  My boss frowned and said, “Can these folks walk the halls of the clients and drum up new business.”

My response: “Well, these are implementation folks, and with their good work they may become ambassadors for us, but they are not rainmakers.”

I thought she might appreciate my transparency and candor and not try to build an empire with more people.

On Friday, I was booted from the company unceremoniously.

What gives? What did I do wrong? Did I misread her proclamations for transparency and her stated regard for calling a spade a spade? Or was the story I was telling went contrary to Janet’s pitch to the home office that all was hunky dory and she needed more funding to staff up for the scale up. Or was there a better way to tell this story and not get fired?

What say you?

 

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