If management doesn’t have faith in you, it’s time to ship out.

A while back, I worked with a team on a long term project. I did my work as usual, but I didn’t follow company guidelines.

For more on this, watch the video at the bottom of the page.

At the time, I believed the method doesn’t matter as long as you get the work done. This works in some spaces, but at the time, it was a big no-no. My process wasn’t to the liking of the higher ups and I ended up in trouble with the team lead.

The Big Talk

The team lead saw the errors in my process and she wasn’t too happy about it. Even though she didn’t point it in the beginning, this time she came at me guns blazing.

I knew I messed up and I figured it would catch up to me eventually. I apologized and let her know that while I broke the rules, I was willing to accept any consequences as long as I could continue working with the team. I was ready to do it by the book and show I could follow the Day 1 rules.

I’m in no way perfect. I made a mistake then and I still do to this day. Either way, I let them know I was wrong and was willing to do what I could to continue contributing to the project.

Never Explain

I make it a habit never to explain. No matter what mistakes, I apologize and do what I can to make things right. John Sonmez at Bulldog Mindset has a good video on this. 

To me, explaining is like giving an excuse for your mistakes. But your excuses can’t undo anything. Don’t try to appeal to someone’s emotions. Face the consequences head on!

I always believed the only time you should explain is when asked. At that point, you’re not making an excuse but you’re helping the other person understand your side (per their request).

After we went over the repercussions for my actions, the team lead asked me to explain why I did what I did. I gave them my explanation, line of reasoning, and the reason why I did what I did. Their response?

“That’s no excuse! These are the rules we all agreed upon when we started this project and you’re no exception. What you did was wrong, and that’s unacceptable.”

This caught me by surprise because we ALREADY went over this! They sounded like they wanted to empathize with me. Turns out they were using it as an excuse to rehash everything I did wrong.

One More Time!

Shortly after our meeting, there was a birthday meeting for someone on our team. I was still digesting what happened, but I thought this might take my mind off things.

The team lead kicks off the meeting by keeping the good times rolling when she said:

“Before we get started, I just want to thank everyone who followed the guidelines on our recent project. It’s really important that we stick to the rules. We have them in place for a reason, so I just want to thank all of you who were attentive and did things the right way!”

I was HEATED! Sure, I broke the rules. Why throw it in my face? TWICE? And in front of the team?

Come ON!

Let’s be honest, it was a passive aggressive dig. The team lead was pissed about my approach and she wanted to bring it up. Again.

By now, the team was more than aware of my mistakes. They weren’t blind to what was going on. The team lead just wanted to single me out.

Fast forward a few months and it didn’t stop. Every review, raise discussion, the team lead brought this up any chance she got. They could have ended my contract, but they allowed me to stay. And the team lead never did let that one mistake go.

What Did We Learn?

If your manager doesn’t have faith in you, they’re telling you “Hey, you made a mistake and I can never trust your work again”. Believe them! There’s no point staying in that situation. Leave and find a new job!

New to the job and afraid of a resume gap? No problem. Any company who’s goals align with yours won’t care too much. Have faith in your skills and start applying!

All this being said, NEVER explain. No exception. It doesn’t matter if they ask or not.

Make your apology and move on.

For more on this, watch the YouTube video below.

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Coding Fanatic

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