It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past.
Remember the letter-writer who manager and other colleagues were urging her to tell the CEO how bad a coworker was who he wanted her take an internal job working for? The first update was here, and here’s the latest.
It’s been about three years in the making but I have an update on how everything turned out. I was worried at the time that pushing back so strongly was going to reflect on me badly, but just a couple of weeks after I sent in the update… the CEO made me employee of the quarter!! I swear I’m not making this up. It’s always done as a surprise in the breakroom with a cake, and the CEO made a short speech where he said, “Some of you know this already, but I wanted (OP) to come work up front with us. She turned me down and said no, I want to stay in the warehouse and get into management and so that’s what she’s doing now and she’s going to do an amazing job for us!”
I took the job in the warehouse and worked my butt off while also assisting with training a replacement for my old role. I threw cases for 10 hours at a time in 100 degree heat, loaded and unloaded trucks, ran every machine out there, and did my best to help all the new people learn and be safe. I had been working full time since 19 and working my way through college ever since I was 24 and that year I also graduated with my B.S. in Business Management. After one year the warehouse manager made me a lead, which to them means you’ll be in the running the next time an assistant supervisor spot opens up.
But a month after that I was recruited to join a totally different department up front (not reporting to Dick). The department head that offered me the role seemed to appreciate my work and want me to advance and succeed. I decided to make the switch and I really enjoyed it, but unfortunately that department was completely eliminated 6 months later along with Dick’s. All of us affected by the downsizing were offered the chance to meet with hiring managers in other branches and locations to try and find something suitable within the larger company. The warehouse manager asked if I wanted to come back and work for him. I don’t know if it was the knowledge that they didn’t have to work with him directly any longer, but two senior women found an opportunity to tell me privately that I should not go back and work for him “because he talks a good game but he doesn’t promote women.”
The first hiring manager I talked to offered me an assistant manager position in a new facility opening that fall and I took it. I got a raise, my first office, and my first business cards. I had no idea what I was walking into helping to open a new production facility- I went from zero to 200 direct reports in two months and worked 70-80 hours weeks for 8 months. I learned how to make schedules and how to get the product out, but everyone was really too busy to coach a first time manager on how to interact with their people. But I did ok because I learned from you Alison! I followed your scripts so many times for approaching people about what they needed to do differently, shutting down unproductive back and forth, asking what I can do to help without prying into personal matters, straightforwardly telling people things that are hard to hear rather than blindsiding them with a write up or bad review, etc. Because of reading this site for years, I had a better template to follow than what I observed from many of my own past managers and I truly thank you.
A few months ago I was promoted and got my own department (not 200 people thank goodness! Something smaller but more specialized). I still read AAM every day or catch up on weekends, and I’m getting even more out of it now that I deal with these things on a daily basis. Thank you again!
P.S. I’m not a trailblazer of any kind, but dozens of women (mostly college age) have been hired into my old warehouse as generalists since I proved the old supervisor wrong when he said “a girl isn’t going to be able to make rate.” The orientation groups they walked through used to be ALL male and now I’m told there are women (plural!) in almost every hiring group. I ran into one woman earlier this year who had been hired as a clerk when I was a lead. She told me I was “the first girl she’d ever seen go by on a forklift” and she realized she could make this a career. Now she’s a supply chain major!
update: my manager is urging me to drop truth bombs on the CEO was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.
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