Last week was a very negative work week in terms of gossip, drama, and people talking about other people. It was all leading up to our annual awards dinner on Friday.
Then, to make a bad week worse, at the awards event, one of my fellow District Sales Coordinators (DSC) brought up a very disturbing event from the past. His comments stirred up a dormant hornet’s nest. Last summer one of my agents turned me in to the AFLAC Trust. It could have resulted in me getting fired. It was based on false allegations which were cleared, but this was after a month long investigation. The betrayal and disloyalty I experienced were painful.
But I had moved on. And forgotten all about it. So, when this DSC brought it up and told me it wasn’t who I thought it was, I was shocked. He said it was another agent that I still work with. This agent had sworn to me that she had nothing to do with any part of it.
Needless to say, I was disturbed. How would I know who it was? Should I confront this person? Could I trust her now? My mind spun with questions.
As the evening went on, I was not my normal self. I distrusted anyone who was friendly to me and thought them phony. I didn’t want to be around any of these people that I usually love to hang out with. Then, I complained to 3 of the market staff about how I wasn’t acknowledged for one of my accomplishments. They didn’t even mention it. The whole ride home (I had brought my mom as my guest), I couldn’t stop bringing it up. It was a terrible feeling to be steeped in such a cynical outlook on people and life.
The next day I couldn’t stand myself and was embarrassed at how I had acted. I wrote an email to my market director apologizing for being a brat and telling him I allowed myself to get negative due to gossip. I am now committed to not participating in gossip. I could see how it destroyed my attitude, and can’t imagine what it does to other people. It can erode our team spirit and pit people against each other instead of having a win/win culture.
That was Saturday. I didn’t hear back from him Sunday or Monday morning. I immediately felt like an idiot for having sent the email. Why did I bring it up at all? Why didn’t I just let a dead dog lie? What a jerk I was? I tried to put it out of my mind but it kept popping back in. I felt terrible.
Then, later that day, he responded. And my whole world changed. Here is his response:
“No need to apologize! I get it and it was a decision by leadership to hone down our awards to have more time for fun, but your success DID NOT go unnoticed. Everyone is so impressed with your “continued” success year over year. You are setting the standard for growth and winning.
I love your pride and what you have done! You should be proud and excited for 2019. I know you are going to have a repeat year. I love your motto. Stay focused and don’t listen to the “noise”. Focus on you and your team and nothing will stop your team.
Thank you for reaching out!”
And I breathed again. And I thanked him for letting me know my accomplishments were noticed. It was exactly what I needed to hear. Transformed me from feeling like an idiot loser to someone proud to be setting the pace for others.
Now, instead of feeling stupid, I feel like a winner who is so happy she reached out!!! What a difference an email can make!!!!!!
Creating Life Out Here 