Once You Leave – You Were Never Worth A Crap.

Once you decide to resign and subsequently leave, you are about to experience a career phenomenon like no other – the reality that although you invested many an hour implementing integral systems, driving projects through your company, playing golf with the big boss at his standard tee time, giving your all and doing whatever it takes – well, the reality is that you were never worth a crap.

Why do I note this? One, it’s true. In fact, I have experienced this on at least two occasions in my career – and in sharing this gem with many a client – others have validated that this is the absolute truth. The stories are endless.

Maybe you know someone like this. They were a good co-worker, they resigned, you were sorry to see them go, many were surpised by it, they had been recognized for their accomplishments, you even went out and got margaritas with them the Thursday before the Friday that was their last day. You heard HR shed crocodile tears over their pending departure, the boss made them a counteroffer – twice, and you along with many other employees were gonna miss them. The following week was different though.

You could feel it in the air – in the parking lot, the lobby, the cubicle quadrants, everywhere. The coffee bar, maybe you only have a coffee maker with cups that suck, was abuzz with negativity. It resembled a scene from the nightly news where political figures are burned in effigy – where those employees left behind are the crazed insurgence and the …well, you know who is getting roasted.

The other reason I share this is because if this happens it is actually good news. In fact, you want to be this person. Why? Companies have to cover the loss of good employees. Nothing is wrong with the environment, the culture complete with an outdated management style is fine, the company mission statement is lived out – right. They cannot explain the departure over top performers, so they announce their resignation, publicly say, “We wish (insert name here) well,” and pick them apart privately. Sure.

Please do not let my cynicism cause you to think that it is like this at every company. The rest of the story is this, when you resign if you do not fall into this category – maybe, just maybe…it is possible…possible that at this moment in time – you aren’t worth a crap. In this case, people will not talk about you when you leave – they are talking about you now though. Sorry.

Here’s to hoping that when you resign – you are a couple of weeks away from being a former employee that was never worth a crap. I will see you at the meetings.