Faithful Through The Challenges

It hurt to be passed over again.

Frank was the only one of the 2016 influx who was still operating at advisor level. All the others had progressed in the company and several of those that he joined with were now in positions of middle management with a clear route to executive positions within the year.

Yet every half-year reveiew, he was told that they just didn’t think he was ready yet. There were various excuses posed for the lack of progress. All of which were pathetic., he knew it and he knew they knew it. And he knew that they knew that he knew it. And he also knew that they knew that he knew that they knew that there was nothing he could do about it. If he were to raise a fuss over it, his name would be marked and he would be side-lined and overlooked with prejudice. He knew the system within his probation period of three months. He observed the political environment of the organisation. He understood what it took to get ahead and which people were to be ‘ego-massaged’ to help the process of progress. He saw what happened and how sme of the methods were … ethically questionable.

Cathy, the last person who got promoted from his influx got it on merit. Frank was happy for her. She worked hard and he knew she would carry that approach with her going forward. She felt sorry for Frank, but he reassured her that he would be fine with things.

He kept a positive outlook by reminding himself that his approach was honest and fair. He kept the outlook by engaging himself fully in the work giving it his all and leaving no stone unturned in achieving the best results that he could. That’s what made being overlooked all the more hurtful,

Frank would not give his line manager the benefit of the disappointment. Indeed since he started, he had already worked under four different line managers in the same team. Four people who hardly knew the work and barely had the time to know the team and could scarcely muster the effort to know him. So when it came to the reviews, they just went with the given script that when stripped to the core esssentially said the same thing: thank you for doing as well as you do, but there’s no room for progress at this time.

This challenge would get to him at times. He would quesiton why he was working for this organisation. He would even consider sending out the CV’s and getting something that paid more and treated people better. There was something, however, that kept him going. He just did not feel like it was the right time to move on.

It was just as well, because when the merger took place and new management had a thorough investigation of organisational practices, Frank’s file was brought to the attention of the new executive board. A board that included at a junior level Cathy, who championed his cause. When they read through his consistent industrious approach despite no progress in the company it amazed them. They knew he should have been promoted a long time ago. They knew something had to be done not just to acknowledge his ability, but to reward his loyalty and character.

It was a remarkable turnaround for Frank. From the bank of lifeless desks with the herd of advisors droning on, Frank was given his own office and his small team to work with. They trusted him with a small project. He proved himself faithful with it and with the team.

As he showed himself to be faithful with a few in challenging circumstances …

(Photo by Nastuh Abootalebi on Unsplash)

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden