Alas, we\u2019ve made it\u2014it\u2019s the third and final part in this post. It\u2019s the takeaway. And perhaps it\u2019s the most important. Actually, nope \u2013 I\u2019ll take that back. There\u2019s no perhaps to it. To me, the takeaway or lesson we can learn from this situation, is the most important. After all, this isn\u2019t our lives we\u2019re talking about, it\u2019s someone else\u2019s, and what\u2019s the point of talking about it if we can\u2019t learn from it, or try to relate it back to our lives in some way? So let\u2019s do that, eh! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What initially fascinated me about this story, and still does, is the whole office politics and contract negotiation aspect of it, because I honestly don\u2019t think I\u2019d ever heard of Maria Taylor or Rachel Nichols before this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Office politics has never been my forte. I know how it works, I just don\u2019t know how to work it\u2014one of the major reasons why I believe I never advanced on most jobs I\u2019ve had. As such, I was drawn to this story to see how someone else faired when caught up in the sticky situation of navigating workplace waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While ultimately Maria Taylor seemed to fair pretty well, for every Maria Taylor out there, there are thousands of other black women who have far less desirable outcomes. I say thousands like I know for sure, that\u2019s only a guess. There could be more, there could be less (though I seriously doubt less). The point I\u2019m trying to make is from my experience, and what I\u2019ve seen and heard, Maria\u2019s situation is atypical, it\u2019s an anomaly, it\u2019s not the norm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While being black and female presents its own set of additional challenges in the workplace, whatever your race or gender, if you\u2019re one of the one\u2019s receiving a check instead of writing the checks, one can still never be to secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So what\u2019s the major takeaway from this story? It\u2019s something so obvious, yet so easy to forget and so it bears repeating \u2013 your company doesn\u2019t give a fuck about you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There, that\u2019s it in a nutshell. Sure there are other little ancillary lessons stemming from this theme, but ultimately, that\u2019s what it all boils down to. Your company doesn\u2019t give a fuck about you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t care what you\u2019re title is, how much money you make, how extensively they courted you to join their team, how much you\u2019re immediate supervisor rides for you, how big your expense account is or if you\u2019re one of the ones punching a clock and they look at you crazy if you so much as come back a minute from your 30-minute lunch late. Your company doesn\u2019t give a fuck about you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You are simply a tool they use to make more money and advance whatever system they have in place. The moment you disturb that, you\u2019re out. In one way or another you\u2019ll be out. Maybe you\u2019re not out of a job, but you are out of a promotion, you get demoted, you get the crappy assignments \u2013 any or all of the above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What Maria Taylor\u2019s situation teaches us, or reminds us rather, is that you have to go into these jobs looking out for yourself. You have to go into these jobs with a strategy and a plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
From what I can tell, Maria Taylor had a plan, Rachel Nichols did not. Rachel Nichols seemed to put all her trust in ESPN, and she even at a contract to back her up, or so she thought. Yet she still found herself out of a job she thought she was promised. Again, one can never be too secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now that\u2019s not to say you get on these jobs and do whatever you want. You do have to do your best, give it you\u2019re all, basically you\u2019re in service to your employer and there is honor in that. But your service to them should also serve you and your career goals. And the only way your service to your employer can also serve you is if you have goals and a plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now a word to the companies out there, because there is a lesson in this for you too. And that simply is your employees are becoming increasingly aware that you don\u2019t give a fuck about them. You\u2019re losing loyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As much as it may be hard to for your employees to come to terms with this, the truth of the matter is you\u2019re their employer not their momma, you can\u2019t afford to give a fuck about them outside of the transactional relationship you have. After all, you\u2019re there to make money, not to support someone\u2019s family, or pay their rent, or buy them a house. Ultimately, it\u2019s the employee\u2019s job to figure that out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, treating employees with respect and dignity they deserve like the thinking, feeling human capital they are is also a currency that pays dividends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Okay, there you have it. That\u2019s all I got. On to a new subject\u2026until this one comes up again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Alas, we\u2019ve made it\u2014it\u2019s the third and final part in this post. It\u2019s the takeaway. And perhaps it\u2019s the most important. Actually, nope \u2013 I\u2019ll take that back. There\u2019s no perhaps to it. To me, the takeaway or lesson we…<\/p>\n