How to Get Fired
General Stanley McChrystal found one of the more creative ways of getting fired: sounding off to Rolling Stone Magazine. Having trashed Goldman Sach's reputation by describing it as a "great vampire squid" sucking on the face of humanity, the magazine is starting to have some form.
Look more closely, and it is clear that the general's dismissal was inevitable. He made himself a victim of one of the five classic ways to get fired:
- Get unlucky. Most people who are fired believe that bad luck and/or a lousy boss or colleagues are to blame. The truth is that "bad luck" normally disguises other problems.
- Have the wrong skills and wrong role. This is what lies behind many "bad luck" stories. I see many people who quietly move into their comfort zone: they do not refresh their skills, they do not work the politics, they keep out of harm's way. They are very easy to cut when tough times come calling.
- Win a gold medal for incompetence. This is possible, but rare. Most bosses can be surprisingly forgiving of cock ups, provided you handle them well. Tony Hayward, CEO of BP, is giving us all a masterclass in how not to handle a crisis. If you have a cock up, then avoid denial and the blame game: over-communicate, focus on the future and drive to action. And show some humility and empathy.
- Be short on people and political skills. As one CEO put it to me: "I find I hire most people for their technical skills and fire most for their (lack of) people skills." The higher you go, the more important the people and political skills become; relatively, the technical skills you learned at the start of your career become less important.
- Be disloyal. This is the trap into which General McChrystal fell. I have blogged on the disloyalty trap several times before. The common view of CEOs was expressed to me neatly by one: "I forgive most things, but not disloyalty: No second chances for that." Team members want a boss they can trust, and the team leader needs a team they can trust: trust is a two way street. When the trust goes, either the team member or the team leader goes. Guess who has the power and who normally goes: Presidents normally beat Generals.