You Might Kick-Ass At Your Job And Still Get Fired

To be completely honest, I never contemplated that I would get fired because I didn’t get along with my boss.
 
Never.
 
I was kick ass at my job, so they had no reason to fire me. I was better at my job than my boss had been when she was in my shoes (or so I was told by most of the staff.) And to be frank, I actually did my job the way it was laid out to be done. Our school ran like a well-oiled machine, thanks to my hard work. Did I make some mistakes? Of course, but nothing earth shattering. We all make mistakes and when we do, we hopefully learn from them.
 
So when my boss’s boss called me in for that fateful meeting, I was SHOCKED.

Here are the key remarks that I still remember 5 years later:

“You and she are like oil at water.”
“There isn’t a place for you here next year.”
“There isn’t a place for you anywhere in the district next year.”

I don’t remember much else about that conversation, but I do clearly and distinctly remember these three sentences.

This was the moment in my career when I needed to make a choice.

1) Do I confront the issue with my boss, and put in my best effort to salvage our damaged relationship in order to keep the job I love, knowing that I might get fired anyway?

2) OR do I leave on my own terms, with a big ole flick of the middle finger, as I walk away?

I chose OPTION 2, and I think about the choice with regularity.
 
Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do now, but looking back, I can see that OPTION 1 was totally doable, but I was scared shitless.

My EGO was really the one who chose for me. It was trying to keep me safe. Safe from her anger. Safe from the hard work. Safe from judgment. Safe from disappointment. Safe from failure.
 
Yes, I chose safety and comfort, even though it meant giving up on a career I loved and the students and teachers I was passionate about helping
 
You don’t have to.
 
If you have a job that you love, and you just don’t love the people you work with, why are you contemplating leaving?

Community. Connection. Collaboration. 

P.S. Have you joined my group yet? It's a place to get support to transform your negative work environment. What are you waiting for?