Does it sometimes appear to you that your progress is being thwarted by the actions of others? I ask you to join me on a trip to the world of Lily Kay, a seven year qualified lawyer (a senior associate) in a firm of solicitors in the City of London. How much of this is true for you? .
It was a Monday morning and Lily sat at her desk. A dark cloud descended upon her. She had no client matters to work on. In an organisation where your worth was measured by the number of hours you have billed your clients, Lily felt worthless. Her colleagues were busy but kept the work to themselves. Lily dreaded the lunch time group meeting that was fast approaching, when the other senior associates in her team would gloat at the work they had in hand and the partners would brag at the work they had brought in. The same partners that Lily had been pestering for work would act surprised when Lily would announce that she had no matters to work on.
It was a far cry from her position a little over a year ago. Lily at that time worked in the finance team. Cara, her boss, was a great motivator and with her encouragement, Lily was a star performer; she was full of confidence and happy at work. Then came the financial crisis that saw their clients go out of business. The team disbanded, Cara took a year off and others left or were made redundant. Ironically it was a testament to Lily’s high profile within the firm that she was asked to join the litigation team. The contrast between her life then and her life now was too painful for Lily to consider. There was now a scramble for work. There was a cosy relationship between the other associates and the partners to which Lily felt excluded. She felt bitter that her new bosses had not made more of an effort to welcome her into the fold.
Lily was not alone in feeling low. Morale was low among the many employees who were not part of the in-crowd. The firm’s management hired a consultant to conduct a strategic review of the firm’s business. Lily was convinced that the only outcome of the review would be her being made redundant. She awaited her fate like a condemned man awaiting execution.
The next day, Lily received a memorandum from the Human Resources (“HR”) department that said:
‘Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth at the firm passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the auditorium at 10 am”. Lily looked at her watch, it was 10 minutes to the start of the funeral. She was confused and perplexed. One of her colleagues must have died she thought. Has a colleague been responsible for her lack of progress in the firm? Who could that be? She dashed to the Auditorium and found the room full of bemused lawyers whispering incessantly. Lily was filled with trepidation and excitement.
At the front of the room and shielded behind lace curtains was a coffin. The funeral commenced with a speech from the Director of HR that left Lily even more confused. Each person was to discover the identity of the culprit themselves by looking in the coffin. The employees present all formed a procession and in a single file walked past the coffin.
Lily got to the coffin, swelled with anticipation at who she would find lying in there. She looked inside it, her mouth gaped open. Inside the coffin was a mirror and all that Lily could see was herself.
There was also a sign next to the mirror that said:
“There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU.
You are the only person who can transform your life. You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your opportunities and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself.
Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your firm changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realise that you are the only one responsible for your life.
The most important relationship you can have is the one you have with yourself.
Examine yourself, watch yourself. Do not be afraid of difficulties, adversity, losses or failure; be a winner, build yourself and your reality. It is the way you face life that makes the difference.”.
Perhaps the message to Lily could propel you to greater heights.
