When GoodBye is Not GoodBye

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LAst night I bad my director farewell and good luck. I thanked him as you do for teaching me a great deal about senior management and the games they play at their elevated level in the corporate ivory tower structure. Politics is rife. But then that is no suprise.

During his tenure as VP Finance for Europe Middle East and Africa, he and I had a couple of very bad moments but these major disagreements we had were only few. We both came into the discussions from positions of strength. Me being the practical, he being the high level theorist and stategist. We did not hold back and the decibal levels increased in proportion to the stubborness of whomever’s idea was being trashed!

We both appreciated each others views and these moments more often than not always ended in some form of accomodation either way. I think he outgunned me by one. Only. However, once the deal was struck and the peace treaty sealed until the next time, the heat and testosterone dissipated immediately and our normal working relationship continued as if nothing had occured.

But something occured each time we engaged in our clashes on plans, restructuring and KRAs. Over time he came to respect my skills and experience as I did his theories and plans. In the end I guess we ended up respecting each other for not being scared to voice opposition to each other about whatever was on the agenda that we held a different views about.

In my opinion, holding alternate opinions and views is a fundamental element to the progression of the business and is essential. However there is a huge caveat and it is - you need to know and feel secure that you can voice your opinions free of any retribution or official censure even if they are diametrically opposed to managements stratagem. We all should be able to do our job and speak our minds without fear of some form of retribution in the shape of CLM (Career Limiting Move) or any other covert actions to keep you from progressing.

Senior management need to learn as much as we middle managers do too. They cannot always be right about stuff but I know of some companies whose senior managers will not tolerate opposing views. Apparently they want robots or opinionless humanoids working for them. What do these types of managers fear that they cannot allow staff to say something that opposes their plan? Is it because the staff at the coalface know full well what can be tolerated and what plans will dovetail very well with what they do?

Well, all I know is that last night’s goodbye was not a goodbye. It was very much a see you later parting. Yes, I do believe we will be working together again and for me that is an opportunity I will welcome because wherever it is, it will be a big challenge that the two of us can engage and succeed in conquering.