Overslaugh is both a noun and a verb and it means passing over a person in favor of another; to ignore a person or their work. The origin of this term is Dutch and is used more in the military and the services when an expected promotion to your next upper rank is ignored in favor of another officer.
Recently, a few of my clients were overslaughed and they felt blindsided by the actions of their management because they were expecting their next promotion. In each case I got a call from my overslaughed clients; in each case their disappointment and upset were palpable.
Overslaughing can happen in a variety of ways in the corporate world. Let me count the ways:
1.You are told throughout the most recent Annual Performance Reviews (APRs) that you are in line for your next promotion, but you find out that your management has suddenly hired someone from the outside to take that slot,
2.You have been consistently rated 5/5 in your most recent APRs and are told that as soon as the new headcount is approved your promotion will take place. Then you find out that one of your peers, who has not done as well, gets promoted in that slot. You also do not get along with this peer.
3.You are already in a Lead or Manager role with team members reporting to you and suddenly your title is changed to Staff Engineer with your team now reporting to your boss.
4.Throughout the year your boss tells you that you are doing a great job and they are happy with how you are driving the project. Yet, at the APR meeting you are rated 2.5/5, with Improvement Needed in many areas of your work. Your boss then blindsides you with yet another calumny: IF this continues, you will be put on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP).
5.Your boss surprises you with an email that says, Jim I have some feedback for you and we must meet soon! (Please read my October 2 blog)
If any of these situations confront you the normal reaction is disappointment, anger, rage, and a feeling of betrayal. In addition, some internalize this setback and go into depression and withdraw from their everyday engagements. Most of my clients who are subjected to this insult are often tempted to go to their bossor even to their skip-level bossand show their outrage at what has just happened and how they are not going to put up with this BS. This is a normal reaction, but when these crestfallen clients come to me for advice this is what I tell them to do, instead:
1.Before displaying your anger, disapproval, and the stupidity of your management at what they have done to you and how they have done it, calm down (this can be very difficult) and take a longer-term view of your career and how you want to manage it. Remember, anything negative you do or say as a knee-jerk reaction to such an outrage can only redound to your careers detriment.
2.Meet with your boss and calmly ask the rationale for what just happened and how you missed the cues all along. Ask them what it means to your ongoing place in the company and what you need to do to change the course of this trajectory. This is going to be the single most important acting performance you are going to deliver in this meeting. Internally, you are seething with exploding anger, resentment, and thoughts of vengeful actions. You must try everything possible to show some surprise and your willingness to understand their point of view, without arguing or without being sarcastic. You must surprise them with your highly managed demeanor.
3.Once you understand their point of view ask them (your boss and others as you can access them in your chain of command) how this new arrangement is going to work so that you can continue to contribute value to the team and be a valued team player. This is an important point to make to show them that despite their egregious actions and betrayal you are willing to play on the team and be a pro at doing what they want you to do. By managing this part well you are setting yourself for gracious references from your bosses.
4.Get ready to market yourself by dusting-off your rsum and updating your LinkedIn Profile in synch with the rsum. In my previous blogs I have admonished my readers to always keep their rsum market ready. Also, LinkedIn now allows you to conceal your job search from your boss by changing your Preferences in the Jobs tab.
5.Scale down your engagement to your current role without making it visible and also by staying out of trouble. Do not show them by working harder, going out of the way to be a martyr, and signaling your management that they made a mistake with these changes. Most managers are immune to feeling guilty. Otherwise, they would have done this differently. Instead, fully cooperate with the new regime and show that you are a true team player. If you do not do this your actions (reactions) will only harm you and prevent you from focusing on what you must focus on: your job search.
Career and job setbacks are normal in ones professional journey. So, when such setbacks do happen remember to keep your career and future and the center of your focus and follow these guidelines to protect your future and your sanity!
Good luck!
| About Author | |
|
Dilip has distinguished himself as LinkedIn’s #1 career coach from among a global pool of over 1,000 peers ever since LinkedIn started ranking them professionally (LinkedIn selected 23 categories of professionals for this ranking and published this ranking from 2006 until 2012). Having worked with over 6,000 clients from all walks of professions and having worked with nearly the entire spectrum of age groups—from high-school graduates about to enter college to those in their 70s, not knowing what to do with their retirement—Dilip has developed a unique approach to bringing meaning to their professional and personal lives. Dilip’s professional success lies in his ability to codify what he has learned in his own varied life (he has changed careers four times and is currently in his fifth) and from those of his clients, and to apply the essence of that learning to each coaching situation. After getting his B.Tech. (Honors) from IIT-Bombay and Master’s in electrical engineering(MSEE) from Stanford University, Dilip worked at various organizations, starting as an individual contributor and then progressing to head an engineering organization of a division of a high-tech company, with $2B in sales, in California’s Silicon Valley. His current interest in coaching resulted from his career experiences spanning nearly four decades, at four very diverse organizations–and industries, including a major conglomerate in India, and from what it takes to re-invent oneself time and again, especially after a lay-off and with constraints that are beyond your control. During the 45-plus years since his graduation, Dilip has reinvented himself time and again to explore new career horizons. When he left the corporate world, as head of engineering of a technology company, he started his own technology consulting business, helping high-tech and biotech companies streamline their product development processes. Dilip’s third career was working as a marketing consultant helping Fortune-500 companies dramatically improve their sales, based on a novel concept. It is during this work that Dilip realized that the greatest challenge most corporations face is available leadership resources and effectiveness; too many followers looking up to rudderless leadership. Dilip then decided to work with corporations helping them understand the leadership process and how to increase leadership effectiveness at every level. Soon afterwards, when the job-market tanked in Silicon Valley in 2001, Dilip changed his career track yet again and decided to work initially with many high-tech refugees, who wanted expert guidance in their reinvention and reemployment. Quickly, Dilip expanded his practice to help professionals from all walks of life. Now in his fifth career, Dilip works with professionals in the Silicon Valley and around the world helping with reinvention to get their dream jobs or vocations. As a career counselor and life coach, Dilip’s focus has been career transitions for professionals at all levels and engaging them in a purposeful pursuit. Working with them, he has developed many groundbreaking approaches to career transition that are now published in five books, his weekly blogs, and hundreds of articles. He has worked with those looking for a change in their careers–re-invention–and jobs at levels ranging from CEOs to hospital orderlies. He has developed numerous seminars and workshops to complement his individual coaching for helping others with making career and life transitions. Dilip’s central theme in his practice is to help clients discover their latent genius and then build a value proposition around it to articulate a strong verbal brand. Throughout this journey, Dilip has come up with many groundbreaking practices such as an Inductive Résumé and the Genius Extraction Tool. Dilip owns two patents, has two publications in the Harvard Business Review and has led a CEO roundtable for Chief Executive on Customer Loyalty. Both Amazon and B&N list numerous reviews on his five books. Dilip is also listed in Who’s Who, has appeared several times on CNN Headline News/Comcast Local Edition, as well as in the San Francisco Chronicle in its career columns. Dilip is a contributing writer to several publications. Dilip is a sought-after speaker at public and private forums on jobs, careers, leadership challenges, and how to be an effective leader. |
Website: http://dilipsaraf.com/?p=2835
Disclaimer: Please use this channel at your own discretion. These articles are contributed by our users. We are not responsible or liable for any problems related to the utilization of information of these articles.
