Why We’re With CoCo

Who among us hasn’t been in Conan O’Brien’s present situation? An employer promises you a coveted prize—a promotion, let’s say—only to default when it comes time to honor the pledge. What’s especially infuriating is when you’ve held up your end of the bargain, patiently toiling away at some less-than-desirable job in exchange for a future reward.

And then, just when you think you’ve reached the Promised Land, you realize the boss has played you like a fiddle.

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In his recent feud with NBC, O’Brien represents us all—the everyday working stiffs who slog along while trusting their employers’ empty assurances that good things await those who pay their dues. For its part, the peacock network symbolizes every boss who somehow squanders our trust.

…Fool Me Twice, Shame on Me

I have felt Conanized—a word that will undoubtedly become part of our business lexicon soon—often in my career, but two situations stand out prominently in my mind. The first time I was a young computer programmer eager to advance a rung on the corporate ladder. My supervisors secured my patience by disclosing plans for a soon-to-be-created position that would constitute a promotion for me. Management expected to unveil the new job within a year, and they outlined an extensive training regimen that I needed to complete in the meantime. I worked hard, attended all the necessary classes, and proved that I was the best choice for the future opening. But when the time came, management changed directions and scrapped its plans to create the new position.

Insert fiddle music here!

My second memorable Conanization occurred soon after a larger firm acquired our company. I was still in IT, and the new parent was relocating the department to its Cincinnati headquarters. Not interested in moving, I sought and accepted a position with another local employer. But the company I was leaving needed me to lead its conversion of a major computer system. So my bosses enticed me to stay by offering me a post managing a large department and promising me a prestigious title—both incentives to be rewarded once I completed the conversion.

Accordingly, I forfeited my outside job offer and got the company through a backbreaking but successful conversion. Of course—cue the fiddler—the morning after I finished the conversion, parent company officials told me that my old bosses were not authorized to promise me the title they did and I would have to do without it.

As outlandishly NBC-ish as these two incidents might seem, what makes them remarkable to me was not the disappointment I felt, but what the leaders who I reported to did next. When I reminded the head of IT that he persuaded me to train for the position he later squashed, he posed an interesting question to me. He asked, “Are you upset because you won’t get to do that specific job, or because you wanted a promotion?” When I admitted that it was the lost advancement opportunity that hurt, he assured me that my work efforts had not gone unnoticed. A few weeks later, he promoted me into a leadership position critical to the department’s newly planned direction.

After the merger conversion, when I learned that my title change had been overturned, I called on our division head—a recent transplant from the new home office—and recounted the story to him. He, too, had a question for me. “Is having that title important to you?” It was especially important now, I assured him, because it would determine whether or not I could trust my new employer. “Consider it done,” he told me. And it was.

A Lesson for Network Brass

I was fortunate in both of those cases to work for leaders who immediately recognized that—intentionally or not—a promise to an employee had been broken. I was lucky to have bosses who sensed my disillusionment and promptly addressed my concerns. And luckily for my future employees, I benefited from experiencing the disappointment of feeling duped. You see, as a result, I’ve always done everything possible to keep my promises to employees—and I told them immediately when outside circumstances might prevent me from doing so.

News reports indicate that O’Brien is being highly compensated for his employer’s change of heart. I, for one, am happy that he’s sticking it to those who played him, and I suspect that very few people will begrudge him the millions he’s purportedly getting in reparation. (NOTE: If any of my former bosses should read this, $40 million would go a long way toward eliminating any lingering disappointment I might be experiencing. Do what you think is right.)

As a leader, you know plans that seem certain today can change tomorrow and you’ll have to react. But don’t be a Conanizer! Before altering strategies, be sure to consider the potential impact those adjustments might have on your employees.

Have you ever been Conanized? If so, how did it feel? How did you react? Or, have you ever done this type of thing to someone, either on accident or on purpose? How did that make them feel? I’d love to hear your stories!

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George Brymer is author of Vital Integrities: How Values-Based Leaders Acquire and Preserve Their Credibility and
The creator of The Leading from the Heart Workshop®
He can be reached at [email protected]

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