The Whistleblower’s Justice

Essay 5

October 15, 2023

I realized that I never provided an update on the hostile situation at my job.  I previously posted about a leader who was subtly working to damage my reputation.  I eventually filed an HR complaint.

The Impact

He planted passive aggressive comments about me to other leaders with whom I work regularly.  He also made disparaging remarks to my employees about me. I don’t have solid proof of these things – only hearsay from a couple trusted sources.

My relationships seemed to change overnight.  The trust and respect that I had spent years building with other leaders appeared to dissipate suddenly.  People were brushing off my comments and ignoring my recommendations in meetings.  They were pointing the finger at me when anything went wrong.  My own employees, who once adored me, started shrugging off my feedback and ignoring my communications.  It was clear that something was different, but I didn’t understand what at the time.

Self-Criticism

For a long time, I didn’t connect the dots. I didn’t realize that this leader was behind the negative changes at work.  In fact, I pointed the finger at myself.  What was I doing wrong?  I was failing at work. 

I had just been promoted six months prior due to my successful leadership.  Now, I was ineffective at getting results from my employees. I wasn’t partnering well with other leaders to achieve goals.  Everything was going wrong, and I felt like everyone hated me. 

Most days, I cried to my wife after work about how much I hated my job.  My mental health was declining. I went from excelling at everything and being admired to feeling judged and criticized at every turn.  All of the changes took a toll on me over time.  I felt like I couldn’t do anything right. It began to impact my self-esteem.  I started to browse for new jobs on a weekly basis.

Refusing to be Manipulated

I still don’t know why my colleague did all of this.  Was it because I was standing in his way?  Was it because I didn’t fawn over all of his ideas like others?  Or was it because I didn’t allow him to assign me extra work like taking meeting notes?  After all, he wasn’t MY supervisor.  If he wanted notes or extra reports sent, he could do it himself. 

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have time”, was often my answer to him.  It was true, and I was just as busy as he was, if not more.  I have never actually seen him offer to do something himself in a group.  The “I’m too important to do that task” approach doesn’t work on me, because I’m just as important.  I guess people don’t like assertiveness in those who they would like to manipulate.

Finding Out

I don’t even know everything this person said or did against me.  I will probably never know.  It was clear that he was working against me when one of my employees came to me and said, “I heard how you got hired”. 

“I’m sorry, HOW I got hired?  What does that mean?”  I said suspiciously.

“Well, (insert my colleague’s name here) told me that your boss didn’t even want to hire you,” she replied.

“What?!” I said exasperated. 

My boss told me exactly what had happened when I was hired.  He had chosen another person for my position. On the day he was planning to make an offer, my application came in.  They halted the process because my resume and experience was exactly what they were looking for. My boss told me that they couldn’t NOT interview me.  I remembered how much my boss and I were on the same page throughout my interviews. I think we both knew that we could be a great team.

It was clear that my colleague was spreading lies about me and starting rumors.  I felt powerless and angry at the time.  It killed me to think that I was being discussed negatively behind my back.  I worked so hard to have a good reputation and a record for success.  I was friendly to everyone and gave no reason for anyone to say a negative word about me. 

Justice Delivered

A tarot reader once pulled the Justice card during my reading. She told me that I bring justice to people. Well, here we are. My HR complaint led to an investigation against my seemingly untouchable colleague.  After over a month of waiting, I was told that “his role is changing”.  Most people don’t realize it, but I know it is a demotion for him as a result of this investigation.  He has kept his title, but all the teams under him were transitioned elsewhere.  No one reports to him now, and most of his power is gone. 

I firmly believe that everything done in the dark eventually comes to the light.  Sometimes, you just have to wait it out. 

Love,

Phoenix Rising