Annie Croner:
Welcome to The Whole Assistant Podcast, where assistants come to embrace their badassery and discover how to show up more strategically for their careers, their executives, and most importantly, themselves. I'm your coach, Annie Croner. Join us as we dive into the skills, strategies and mindset that will help you unleash your full potential. Let's go. Welcome. So this episode is going to be very short and sweet. I know all of my episodes are 20 minutes or less for the most part, but this one in particular may be a bit shorter. Just because I got something to say, you guys.
Annie Croner:
I got something to say and I'm going to share it today. So today we're talking about the hard truth about loyalty. So for the last few years, I have had some very close friends be let go from their roles. And most of my friends are administrative professionals or executive assistants. Not all of them, but a lot of them are. And I met a lot of my friends on the job over the years. And so I will say that it's always surprising to me when somebody I know who is incredibly good at their job, incredibly gifted, incredibly growth minded, gets let go. I just want to bring this issue up because I want to kind of frame loyalty in a way that will serve you instead of frustrate you.
Annie Croner:
So I know a lot of these people, a lot of my friends even I've had clients who are total rock stars be let go while I'm working with them. And it's left both of us kind of perplexed and like, what is happening? Because I know these people are at the top of their game and sometimes people just get let go. And the truth is that the company will always be loyal to itself. First, okay, last week I was on LinkedIn and I was looking around and there was this post by an HR professional. And they were really frustrated because they're like, I'm tired of being the scapegoat and everyone's always pinning things on hr. And I offered a different perspective. I actually commented on that post and I'm like, look, the reason why a lot of people are suspicious of HR is because HR has failed them in the past. And I support executive assistants.
Annie Croner:
And I know that in the past I've had a client or two where the executive has been just terrible and has mistreated the executive assistant and the executive assistant has gone to hr and either HR didn't want to listen or they chose not to, or their hands were tied in some way. So HR failed them. And so that is why there are people that are suspicious of HR on the heels of that conversation, I actually had some meaningful dialogue in the. In the comment section. On the heels of that conversation, I decided to record this podcast episode because there are some things you need to be aware of when it comes to loyalty, especially company loyalty to you. And I know this, this firsthand because I've coached assistants in this position. And there are several pitfalls of being loyal to an employer. And I'm going to share what you should be loyal to instead in a minute here.
Annie Croner:
But I'm going to start with the pitfalls of being loyal to an employer. So, first of all, companies are built to make money. They are not built for people. Let me say that again. Companies are built to make money. They are not made for people. So I know some of us have probably been privy to layoffs, I know some of us have probably been privy to mass layoffs, even. And companies aren't built to be loyal back.
Annie Croner:
So you can totally be loyal to your executive, you can totally be loyal to your company, but the companies are literally not made to be loyal back. Okay? And I'm not saying this to be a negative Nelly, I'm not saying this to be a Debbie Downer here, but I will say that this is something that we all need to recognize. And I know a lot of us are really loyal to our executives as well. But if it comes down to your executive or you, chances are that you will be out of luck. So then we need to rightfully place our loyalty. You have to be loyal to yourself first. And I know for a lot of us, this feels really uncomfortable because most of us are taught to put others before. Before ourselves.
Annie Croner:
Most of us have been socialized as women, so we also have been socialized to put others before ourselves. And this can be awfully uncomfortable to be loyal to yourself first. But I will caution you to watch what you're sacrificing in the name of loyalty and ask yourself whether or not it would be reciprocated, because chances are it will not be reciprocated. Okay, so, for example, if you are working all hours of the day, do you think your company is going to care when it comes time to do massive layoffs? Do you think that they are going to care if it will serve the company, if it will actually be in the company's best interest to let you go? It does not matter necessarily how hard you work now, in some cases, yes, obviously they're going to cut the people who are less effective in their roles, that sort of thing. Obviously, that will be a thing so I'm not saying don't work hard, but you want to work hard for yourself. You want to work hard because it's in your integrity to do so, not because you have some misplaced sense of loyalty. I know this is getting spicy and I'm probably stepping on some people's toes, but I've just noticed it time and again and I think that we all could use this message. And so please take this message and the heart in which I'm sharing it, because I have supported executive assistants who have been let go for some really, really silly, silly things.
Annie Croner:
High level, high performing executive assistants, rock stars in our industry, being let go over some small thing, something that is not fireable and that they probably could take and sue for, to be perfectly honest. So what does rightfully placing your loyalty look like? So if you're employed, it looks like staying in your role out of obligation. If you feel like you're staying in your role out of obligation, it's worth having a look at that. Do you feel obligated to your executive? Is that why you're staying in your role? Maybe you work in a terrible environment, but you're super loyal to your executive coworkers. Perhaps you don't want to leave your co workers in a lurch, or perhaps you've trauma bonded with your co workers or even your direct reports. Right? So if you're staying in a role out of obligation, it's worth having a look at that. Because the last thing we want is to burn out in a role that isn't a good fit. If you're working in a toxic workplace, if you're in an environment where your voice is not being heard, these are all things to look at.
Annie Croner:
And so being loyal to yourself first is going into a situation with eyes wide open. Now, it may not mean that you're going to leave that role right away, but it's something to consider, right? And if you're looking for a new opportunity, I've also walked several clients through the process of leaving their role and finding a new opportunity. This looks like not settling. Even if you've accepted a new position because you need the money and you don't have the bandwidth to wait for the right position to come along, you can still continue to look for the right position. You do not have to stay in a position that is less than ideal to you. Even if you've already said yes, and even if you've already accepted that, and I know to a lot of us that feels really deceitful to accept a new role and then to leave. But it happens all the time, you guys. This happens all the time.
Annie Croner:
This is business. People in business, when they find a new role or a new opportunity that suits them even better their dream job, they will leave their current position to pursue that. There is nothing wrong with that. Okay, I know this is hard for a lot of us because we are so loyal and so many of us do value integrity. But there again, rightfully placing your loyalty so that in the event that you're let go, you are not bitter as a result. I know a lot of us. I know because I've coached a lot of executive assistants. I know a lot of us get bitter when we're let go because we have literally poured in our blood, sweat and tears into our role.
Annie Croner:
We have literally spent hours, hours working beyond our normal work hours. We've stayed up late working on a. Working on a project or preparing for board meetings. We have gone the extra mil denial. And all of a sudden we're being let go. And that can cause us to feel resentful, but the only reason that's causing us to feel resentful is because we have not rightfully placed our loyalty. Okay, so I would just have you consider these things, have you consider these dynamics, and really consider being loyal to yourself first and getting really clear on what that looks like. Okay, so I know that this is a short and sweet episode, but I did want to address this because the last thing I want for you guys is to burn out in a role that is ill suited to you in the name of loyalty and then eventually be let go and feel resentful too.
Annie Croner:
So that is what I have for you guys today. I hope you found it helpful. Be intentional. Be whole. That is all for now. Hey, before you go, don't forget to grab my free strategic planning session guide. This stealthy playbook will help you and your executive find clarity on their priorities so you can make a greater impact. Go to wholeassistant.com/guide or click the link in the Show Notes to snag your copy.
Annie Croner:
And if you're loving the podcast, please subscribe, leave a review, and share with another assistant ready to level up. Thanks for listening and until next time, keep embracing your badassery.
