Today is the day "it" hit the fan.........

Life just got a bit interesting at my workplace today. My manager, who as I mentioned previously was doing bad things, was fired late last night. There is already a process in place to replace him as the team leader, but I've been asked by my higher level project managers in the company to not apply for the position. They know I'm fully qualified, but they're considering putting me in another lead position in the company.

It's always a bit of a risk to pass up a management position with little more than a promise that another one is in the works, but I trust my upper manager enough to take the risk. He did a great job keeping my status as a silent whistleblower in the matter surrounding the firing. That's a good enough reason for me to trust that he has my best interests at hand. Not only that, but he's a former FBI agent. He, much like me, can read unintentional body language and knows when someone is lying or telling half-truths. He went out of his way to note that he knows that I was telling the truth regarding situations in our group, so I have a good feeling that he trusts me as well. I feel the need to repay his trust.

Except for the couple of people who were involved, the rest of the group is shocked that he was fired. If they knew some of the situations that I was privy to, they wouldn't be surprised. In fact, they'd likely be shocked that he even put himself in that bad of a position. But I can't say anything about it for fear that they'd figure out I was the reason he was fired.

This exercise is a blatent reminder of what can happen when a manager thinks he's bulletproof. I don't care how many people you think are on your side or that you think you can say derogatory things about others and get away with it. Eventually, it will catch up with you. It's an excellent lesson for everyone in regards to both personal and business relationships. It's OK to be a firm and direct person, but you can mistreat people. It will always end badly.