2 Crucial Moments That Shaped My Leadership Style: Embracing Empathy Over Ego
The worst bosses I ever had inspired me to be a better leader.
Yes, bosses. In fact, three of them.
I had been at the agency for 4 months and I wasn’t happy.
I can give 2 specific instances. One before I left and one after my two-week notice.
First, I had been working there for only two months when my son got sick.
We ended up in the ER and diagnosis with RSV.
To say I was a wreck is an understatement.
I took PTO to stay home with him for one day…that was all I had earned.
When I returned to work I ended up getting sick.
I couldn’t afford a day off of work so I went to the CEO’s office to ask him for advanced PTO or to WFH so I didn’t have to be in the office.
Denied.
So instead, I worked at my desk, literally shaking with a fever. Unable to get any work done anyways.
I stuck around for another two months before I put in my two-week notice.
I lasted two days before I just upped and left because of how I was treated.
After getting my notice, my Director never spoke to me again.
We had multiple check-ins per day prior because she was remote. Those were gone.
The CEO and the President of the company acted as if I didn’t exist.
It was my 2nd day on my notice when the President was walking a client through the office.
He stopped to introduce the client to each department as they walked by.
When he saw me and the only other girl in my department he kept walking, not acknowledging either of us.
The look the client gave me left me wanting to crawl into a hole. The embarrassment for both of us.
That was it for me. I wasn’t about to stay for another 12 days to be treated terribly.
But this isn’t the end of that story.
In my very next role, I had the opportunity to become a leader and be better for everyone I worked with for the next 7 years.
I learned to lead with empathy and to put my team members before myself. And the results have been amazing.
BTW…I don’t put this agency on my resume 😏
#modernleadership #leadership
