Conviction: I’m On Your Side Bub!!

In one of my former positions, we were supporting a VP that was ramping up an important initiative for the corporation. He was responsible for creating an organization supporting a new billing initiative to take back billing from former subsidiaries who had been divested. We were creating an organization that comprised five new billing centers and a dozen or so cash remittance centers. We provided user requirements for the other organizations that built the buildings, worked with the supply chain organization on agreements for physical equipment, and provided input to the IT organizations that were developing software for these new centers. In addition to making sure the physical properties and equipment were installed to our requirements; we were also responsible for staffing and training for thousands of new employees. We were also the group that was responsible for providing user requirements and certifying that the IT systems were operating per spec ---with sometimes vastly different billing-related requirements for each of the seven subsidiaries. I was responsible for testing and training for the new organization. Cool job.

Many organizations go through re-organizations and changing of the political landscape --- often unexpectedly. On one October Friday, there was a seismic shift in the CFO political landscape. We afterwards referred to it as Black Friday. Our CFO and about a third of the VPs in his organization were terminated. For many of us our entire political networks walked out the door. We were not sure what that meant for us. Usually when executive positions are eliminated, their administrative and Chief of Staff teams are eliminated with them.

Due to some deft political maneuvering, my boss managed to get us named as the new CFO’s Chief of Staff team. The new CFO had joined our corporation from outside the company. His name was Dave.

Shortly after joining the new team as CFO, Dave was invited to a Senior Executive meeting down the road in Basking Ridge to discuss the status of the new organization --- with a specific topic regarding our staffing and training plans. The meeting’s invitees were the Executive VP of Billing and an All-Star team of other Senior VP’s and VP’s that had responsibility for this high priority corporate initiative. It was an all-day affair with about thirty designated attendees. Dave would be providing input on several topics.  Testing and Training were key concerns. The piranhas were in the water looking to associate blame for anticipated delays. Staffing and training were the topics with the bull’s eye on the agenda with many of the attendees looking to buy time for their teams. Everyone recognized that if staffing and training were behind schedule, it became irrelevant that construction or software development or hardware installation were behind too.

I had not met Dave before he scheduled an hour and a half of my time --- 1:1 ---- with him in his office at 4:30 PM in the afternoon before the meeting.

That should have been a red flag.

I was prepared. As most of you know, I know my stuff and can go deep on any topic. I had a solid plan and we were proceeding with the plan. No significant issues.

Well, THAT did not matter. Dave was in attack mode. I had to defend every statement that came out of my mouth. I was flabbergasted!

Do you ever have one of those internal conversations with yourself, but never actually speak the words aloud? I wanted to tell Dave, “Hey! I’m on your side bub!!!!” 

I never spoke those words aloud. Dave never said, “Thank You” or “Appreciate your time.” 

We finished and I left his office. My boss had stayed in her office (she was his Chief of Staff) with another of my peers. We had agreed to go to dinner afterwards and decompress. None of us had had much personal experience with Dave so far. Lessons learned would benefit all of us.

At dinner, I was depressed and devastated. I really thought my career was over. My boss asked me if Dave said ANYTHING when we finished. “Well, I said, he said he wanted me to attend the meeting with him the next day.” He wanted me to be a “fly on the wall” and “don’t speak unless I ask you something.”  “Yes Sir” had been my response. My dinner companions thought that was at least positive. I was not going to lose my job.

Next day a strange thing happened. The conference room was full of the All-Star team of senior executives responsible for making this Billing Initiative happen. Not many other “flies on the wall” were present.

Dave was amazing. He regurgitated virtually every word that I had spoken to him the night before. He spoke with conviction and authority. He defended any statements he made.

I never issued a peep. It was a long day, but we (Dave’s CFO organization) emerged unscathed. Other people had to take responsibility for their own issues. We were not scapegoated.

I did not get a “Thank You” or a “Good job.”

I did learn an important lesson though. Dave was in attack mode the night before because he was assessing my conviction and belief in the information I was sharing.

How many times have I seen people sugarcoat the information being shared up the hierarchy chain? Sometimes the information being shared barely resembles the facts.

Glad I did not share my mental conversation with Dave when we were in our 1:1. It would not have gone well for me!

I did learn the value of conviction and truthfulness in the information shared up the management chain. As a leader, I need to be sure I have conviction and truthfulness in the information I share about my team and the work we are doing. As a subordinate, I need those qualities too. My boss stakes his reputation on my conviction and truthfulness.

Having a Conviction: I'm On Your Side Bub! mentality is important as a leader in all my dealings.