“Hello darkness my old friend….” Paul Simon
They say you don’t see the punch that knocks you out. I'm sure this guy didn't.
They say you don’t see the punch that knocks you out. I'm sure this guy didn't.
They say you don't hear the bullet that gets you. The silence must be deafening.
People hate being criticized, dressed down, yelled at, publicly embarrassed, scolded, written up, et al. And it is terrible and often depressing. We’ve all worked for the maniac who had no decorum when it came to criticizing, they’d do it anytime, anywhere, in front of anybody. Very motivating.
But, you want to know something worse? Silence.
Have you ever been on the inside of a RIF or had knowledge of a colleague who was about to be terminated? It’s the purest form of seeing dead people, except they don’t know it. But have you also noticed how invariably someone will ask “is everything ok with me?” They don’t know, but they know because no one is talking to them. Their peers aren’t joking with them and their managers aren’t managing them. Silence.
Now, have you ever been on the outside? Did you look back on things and realize you could have and should have seen it coming because of the silence?
Rarely if you’re being beat on – even improperly or unfairly – is it because you have an X on your forehead. And that is the time to make some fight or flight decisions. If the criticism is well-intentioned and designed to help make you better then it’s worth paying attention to even if it’s poorly performed. If it’s unjust and basically cruel then it may well be a shot across the bow.
Either way – Pay Attention!!
People hate being criticized, dressed down, yelled at, publicly embarrassed, scolded, written up, et al. And it is terrible and often depressing. We’ve all worked for the maniac who had no decorum when it came to criticizing, they’d do it anytime, anywhere, in front of anybody. Very motivating.
But, you want to know something worse? Silence.
Have you ever been on the inside of a RIF or had knowledge of a colleague who was about to be terminated? It’s the purest form of seeing dead people, except they don’t know it. But have you also noticed how invariably someone will ask “is everything ok with me?” They don’t know, but they know because no one is talking to them. Their peers aren’t joking with them and their managers aren’t managing them. Silence.
Now, have you ever been on the outside? Did you look back on things and realize you could have and should have seen it coming because of the silence?
Rarely if you’re being beat on – even improperly or unfairly – is it because you have an X on your forehead. And that is the time to make some fight or flight decisions. If the criticism is well-intentioned and designed to help make you better then it’s worth paying attention to even if it’s poorly performed. If it’s unjust and basically cruel then it may well be a shot across the bow.
Either way – Pay Attention!!
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