Failed, fired, and forced to flee!
Published:Wednesday | June 8, 2011 | 12:00 AM
- 3 Crucial career lessons from a false prophet
On Sunday, May 29, Ian Boyne in his Gleaner column titled 'False Prophets, True Freedom' reported that Michael Lewis, the disgraced doomsday prophet is now out of a job.
To quote Boyne, the self-described culprit who brought Lewis on television, "Michael Lewis has been fired from his job after appearing on television to express his obnoxious religious views."
As if that wasn't bad enough for Lewis, he's also out of his country, forced to flee for fear of his life. For the record, I think Boyne's cogent defence of democracy, press freedom and religious tolerance is admirable.
However, this column is focused on helping you to zoom ahead in your career. I think you will find the following three lessons from Lewis' failure, firing and forced flight to be as valuable as I do.
Failure
Very few of us will ever fail as spectacularly as Lewis, thankfully. But you'll inevitably fail - job interviews; to get a well-deserved promotion; university exams; to keep your marriage together; or to complete an important project on time and within budget. The question is how you'll respond to your failure.
Michael Lewis may have failed, but he exhibits several traits of a resilient person. He has admitted his mistake and publicly apologised for misleading people. Rather than suicide, he has quickly adapted to his unenviable situation. In classic resilience mode, he has even reached out for help, asking Boyne about having the police escort him to the airport.
When, not if, failure and adversity strike, you'll do well to model these responses. Accept your situation and adapt. Seek help. Do whatever you can to survive.
Getting Fired
Boyne contends that it was wrong for Lewis to get fired over his religious views. That may be so, but people get fired unjustly many times. In any case, getting fired or suspended can be very hard to deal with.
If this has happened to you, don't despair; it's not the end of the world. You can rebound, perhaps even finding a better job.
Getting fired can be particularly hard if you feel it was unjust. You'll need inner strength to overcome the anger and resentment that can result. But do whatever you need to do to move on.
Also, remember that actions have consequences. Think about how your actions, in public and private will affect your career. From your decision to gossip about your boss, to coming to work late, your actions will yield results.
Forced to flee
Lewis' decision to flee is clearly one of pragmatism over patriotism; it's a simple matter of survival. It's the same for us in our careers sometimes.
A friend recently recounted how he had to leave a very frustrating, stressful and financially unrewarding job because it threatened to drive him crazy. To protect his sanity, he resigned and had to struggle financially for months before landing a much better job.
A decision to leave a job or change careers can be difficult. But it's the best and sometimes only option.
Glenford Smith is a motivational speaker and success strategist.
Glenford Smith, Career Writer