Forget the Yellow Brick Road

by Liz Green

  Dorothy had always wondered why Boyd was not in a more senior role, especially considering how well liked he was by his team and the consistent results his department reported. In his mid-forties, slightly overweight, balding, and no taller than five foot five, Boyd was married with teenage kids. He had been the manager of the same department for almost nine years. The thought of working in the same job for nine years terrified Dorothy. Two years would be the most anyone should have to stay in the same job before being promoted, she thought—three years tops.

  Dorothy remembered one afternoon when Boyd had called Dorothy and Trent into his office. It was a small office with a tiny window that faced a brick wall that seemed no more than an arm’s length away.

  “You have both done a wonderful job this last year,” he said, “and it has been a pleasure to have you on the team. Your contributions have not been overlooked, it seems.” Boyd had paused, looking at Dorothy and Trent with eyes filled with pride.

  Neither Dorothy nor Trent were the type to boast, so both had sat silently waiting for Boyd to go on. “Not only did you both successfully source your own permanent placements at the end of the graduate program, but you, Dorothy, straight into a business analyst role, and you, Trent, an auditor. Well done to you both.”

  “We are both really happy, Boyd, but you know we couldn’t have done it without you,” Dorothy said.

  “Nonsense, you’re good kids, and you would do well anywhere.”

  Dorothy had sensed that Boyd was a little disappointed that neither of them had chosen to stay with him and his team. It was not that they did not like Boyd and the rest of the team. It was just that they had all been there so long and seemed to be regularly overlooked for promotion, and neither Dorothy nor Trent wanted to find themselves in a similar situation. In fact, Trent had once commented to Dorothy that he thought that not one of them aspired to anything more than their cosy little cubicles, on their secure little floor, of the same building they had worked in for so many years. Dorothy could not believe that could be the case.

  “Boyd, can I ask you something?” Dorothy asked tentatively.

  “Of course, Dorothy, anything,” Boyd said, without hesitation.

  “You’re such a great manager and fantastic at what you do, so why are you still in the same job as you were nine years ago?” she asked. “Surely you want to succeed?”

  As Dorothy said the words, she regretted them passing her lips. She was surprised to see a look almost of pity on Boyd’s face.

  “Dorothy, the team spirit I have nurtured here is based on competence, hard work, respect, and a genuine liking for working together to achieve a common goal,” he said. “We have a commitment to our jobs, but we also make sure we maintain a commitment to our lives outside of work. In other teams and departments, things are not always so supportive and conducive to those goals.”

  Dorothy responded defensively. “But surely it is worth the risk and challenge to be able to achieve success?” she asked.

  Boyd stood up from his chair and paced slowly to the glass partition of his office to look out at his team. “Only if you want it enough, Dorothy, and only if that’s what is right for you.”

  Now sitting at the pub with Trent, Dorothy, still staring into her drink, worried a little. She was almost certain that she was on the right path for her and bravely resolved not to turn back.

  After Dorothy left Boyd’s department, she found her new role as a business analyst to be intellectually stimulating, but she was again working on one of those grey floors with grey furniture and, in general, grey people. The saving grace, however, was that there were a handful of highly skilled and knowledgeable colleagues whom Dorothy found impressive. Consequently, she spent the first six months of her time in the role dedicating herself to learning everything there was to know and do.

  In the second six months of the role, she was asked to form part of a cross-functional task force to work on a special project for human resources. Although human resources was not one of Dorothy’s areas of expertise or interest, she accepted reluctantly with the hope it would look good on her resume.

  Ironically, this assignment turned out to be one of the most interesting projects she had worked on in her career to date. It had provided an opportunity to meet people from other departments and functions she may not have met otherwise. One particular individual left a lasting impression.

  It was the fourth meeting of the task force. Given that all the participants had been communicating by telephone and e-mail between the meetings, and some had been working together on group tasks, they had got to know each other fairly well. At the end of the meeting, as everyone was rounding up their action task lists and heading out the door, Dorothy noticed Scott Crow sitting quietly in the corner with his shoulders slouched, appearing disillusioned. She slowed down the pace of her packing, waited for the room to empty of most of the participants, and then approached Scott.

  “Everything OK, Scott?” asked Dorothy.

  “Yeah, I suppose so,” replied Scott.

  Scott Crow was a team manager, so technically he was more senior than Dorothy and probably a few years older. He had been working in his role for a little more than two years. Today he looked a little more dishevelled than usual. His tie was loose, his sleeves rolled up, and part of his shirt was untucked and poking out the back of his chair. When Dorothy pulled out the chair next to him to sit, she also noticed one of his shoelaces was undone.

  “You suppose so?” Dorothy said.

  Scott looked up to see Dorothy earnestly looking at him, hoping to be able to help him, so he responded, “Why are we here?”

  “That’s a big question, Scott,” exclaimed Dorothy.

  “No, not the universal question, Dorothy! I mean why are we here in this project team? And I don’t mean the obvious objectives of the project either.”

  Dorothy now knew it was not disillusionment she had seen. She was looking into the eyes of someone filled with self-doubt.

  “Well, I can’t say why you are here, Scott, but I know I am here because I want to be the best I can be and positively contribute to The Firm,” she said. “And in doing that, I hope that will mean I will achieve all I set out to achieve.”

  “And what’s that then? What do you want to achieve?” asked Scott.

  Dorothy pondered momentarily and replied simply, “Success.”

  “I want that too, Dorothy. Well, I thought I did, but now I don’t know. In fact, I’m not sure I know anything at all. I just had my performance review, and the feedback identified some performance gaps that I had no idea were an issue. I had actually been hoping for a pay rise and promotion. And then sitting here in this meeting today listening to you all, there was nothing I could contribute over and above what had already been said. Actually, some of the things that were suggested were so clever I was blown away. I just don’t think I am smart enough.”

  Dorothy was surprised. She had always considered Scott as someone who was doing well in his career. His role on the project team had been as the fearless negotiator with senior management, and he seemed to solve problems and devise strategies to overcome barriers that had initially been considered as unmoveable by the team. In fact, she was envious of those characteristics.

  She was perplexed and not sure how she should respond to Scott. It was rare for someone to express vulnerability around this office.

  “Scott, I understand how you must be feeling,” she said. “I know at times I have felt lost and doubted myself, but I have been lucky to have Trent and my father as sounding boards. Do you have anyone you can talk to about this kind of thing?”

  Scott looked back at Dorothy blankly. It suddenly occurred to her that not everyone was as lucky as she was to have people who cared enough to listen or help. Without a second thought, she said, “You’ll really like Trent. He’s a good guy. We always go for a drink after work on a Friday night. You should come.”

  A few months later…

  CHAPTER 4

 
Mountainous Terrain

  Dorothy, Trent, and Scott Crow had become solid friends in the months since Dorothy first introduced Scott to Trent. As it turned out, they needed each other’s support more than ever.

  The economic crisis that was in its infancy when Dorothy and Trent had started as graduates with The Firm had now reached rock bottom, and the impact was felt around the world. Unemployment had reached an all-time high, and The Firm had not been spared.

  Trent worked hard as an auditor, and he was good at it. In fact, he never got tired of sharing his success stories with Dorothy over their regular Friday night drinks. Trent’s manager considered Trent a highly valued team member and selected him to be his eventual successor. Trent’s uncanny ability to see problems coming and dodge them with agility was an admirable trait.

  Three months before, to reduce costs, The Firm began to merge similar functions in different departments and close down teams in regional offices. Trent thought it made business sense for The Firm to merge his audit team with another. Although his team was fortunately operating out of the head office, he was concerned that his role and the roles of those he worked with might be threatened. Although Trent was not privy to any confidential information that would pertain to mergers or loss of jobs, he was certain something was cooking. Trent took his ideas and plans to Dorothy and Scott, and over many coffees, late into the evening in Scott’s apartment, they would brainstorm and strategise.

  Trent did his utmost to ensure his team was operating at optimum efficiency by convincing his manager to allow him to refine their standard operating procedures and implement a continuous improvement process. His strategy worked in his favour. When the two teams were merged and many lost their jobs, not only did Trent keep his job, he was promoted to audit team leader.

  On the other hand, despite Scott’s fabulous ability to solve problems and devise solutions, he tended to stumble his way along. Dorothy and Trent were amazed when time after time Scott would tell stories of his falls, but then in no time at all was back up on his feet again as though nothing had happened at all.

  Dorothy was having the hardest time of the three. The downsizing, economising, and widespread fear of job loss intensified the environment as politics reared its ugly head. Some people headed for the bunkers to protect themselves, while others chose to step forward and fight. Dorothy watched as some soldiers won battles and others faced certain death on the battlefield. It became clear that Dorothy could not allow herself to cower in the bunkers or play dead and hope for the battle to pass her by. The need to rise to the challenge was no more evident than the day she learned that her department was to be closed down.

  It was a deceptively beautiful winter’s day when the sun pours through the window and the sky is crystal blue, but the air is blisteringly cold once you step outside. After alighting from the train on her way to work, Dorothy dropped by the corner coffee cart to buy a large latte to sip on to keep her warm during the ritual walk

  to work.

  On the lift ride up to her floor, everything was as it always was, with people staring straight ahead paying no attention to those around them. No ‘hellos’ or ‘have a nice days’. For months after she first started working for The Firm, it had bothered Dorothy that all those people in the elevator worked for the same company but did not make any effort to talk to each other. She had now accepted it as the way things were done, this morning the silence in the elevator was almost comforting.

  Stepping out of the lift onto her grey floor, Dorothy’s feeling of comfort was rapidly replaced with fear. In front of her, she saw too many people. At this time of the morning people were usually seated at their desks, hidden behind their partitions, beavering away. Today, however, they were standing huddled outside the floor’s training room. As she approached the group, her phone rang.

  “Dorothy, it’s Trent,” said the voice on the other end of the line.

  “Trent, there’s something strange….” whispered Dorothy.

  “I know, quiet, just listen. Your department is about to be shut down,” he said.

  Dorothy’s heart sank with a force that almost dropped her to her knees. This event was not in her plan. What was going to happen to her? How would she find a job in this market? Oh, the thought of having to walk into a job interview and admit she had been made redundant!

  “Scott is off trying to find out more for you,” Trent said.

  Dorothy looked up to see that the hoard of people had been ushered into the training room. It looked like a scene from a World War II movie, when prisoners are being ushered into the gas chambers. A woman she did not recognise was waving her hand at Dorothy from the door of the training room, summoning her to join them.

  “I’ve got to go, Trent. They’re waiting for me,” Dorothy said with a quiver in her voice.

  “It’ll be OK, Dorothy. It has to be,” said Trent, with as much certainty as he could muster.

  The announcement was horrific. The rumour was true. The department was being shut down, and redundancies were effective immediately. It was such a blur, and much of what was being said to them about business being business in tough times was like the stinging pain of saltwater on a fresh wound.

  After the meeting, Dorothy could not get out of the room fast enough, as the imagery of the gas chamber consumed her thoughts. She could feel herself struggling for air.

  Back at her desk, she began to slowly pack her belongings into her bag a tube of hand cream that smelled like freshly picked roses, a bottle of multivitamins to assist her through even the toughest work weeks, and a framed photo of her with Trent and Scott at last year’s office Christmas party. The last thing Dorothy took from her desk was a picture she had taped to her partition. It was of a mountain with its tip peeking through the clouds. The quote at the bottom read, ‘Keep your destination in clear view’.

  Dorothy was deep in thought when she heard a voice from behind her. “Are you Dorothy?” The voice belonged to the woman who had earlier waved Dorothy into the training room. “Could you come with me, please?”

  The woman pivoted on the ball of her foot and strode back to the training room. Dorothy stood up to follow her and noticed that, although the floor was almost deserted, the few people who remained were well aware that this woman had just singled out Dorothy as they stared at her. Dorothy picked up her belongings and then put them down again, not sure whether she should take them with her or not. In the end, she decided to take them just in case, picked them all up again, and headed toward the ‘gas chamber’.

  Dorothy timidly poked her head in the doorway and saw the woman sitting with a man, waiting for her. “Please come in and sit down,” the woman said. Dorothy sat down and clumsily dropped her belongings around her

  feet.

  “Dorothy, I am sorry you had to receive the news you did today,” the man said. “These are unfortunate times, and sometimes these things just have to happen.”

  Dorothy said nothing. She just nodded.

  “Dorothy, we have been told, however, that The Firm has identified you as someone they would rather not lose,” said the woman.

  Dorothy looked down at her lap, took a deep breath, and waited for what she desperately hoped was coming next.

  “So, we have been asked to offer you another position,” the man said. “You would be responsible for formally closing down the operations of this department and merging its critical functions into another area of the business. You will be provided with a small team of people who have been identified as having a great deal of knowledge capital to support you.”

  “But what about everyone else?” asked Dorothy.

  “Well, I would have to say that by the look on the faces of the people still outside this door, you will not be very popular,” the woman said, chuckling and nudging the man beside her. “But hey, that doesn’t matter, right. They will not be working here anymore.”

  An awkward silence fell among them. They were right, Dorothy thought. She was not going to be popular
if she gained a promotion out of this. Even if the others were gone, they would still have friends in other departments who could make things difficult for her. But what’s the alternative? Unemployment?

  “Could you please give me a moment to make a phone call?” asked Dorothy.

  The man and woman looked at each other in surprise. They both stood up and said they would wait outside the door for her. With trembling hands, Dorothy

  dialled Trent’s extension. When he picked up the phone, Dorothy did not even wait for his ‘hello’. “Trent, it’s Dorothy. Can you conference-call Scott in?”

  Within moments, the three of them were discussing Dorothy’s morning and what had just been offered to her. Trent could not understand Dorothy’s hesitation, but Scott did. At times like these, Dorothy appreciated Scott’s ability to empathise.

  “Dorothy,” Scott said, “I know it seems tough and that things are going to get tougher. But if the road heads in, it stands to reason that it has got to come out at the other side then, doesn’t it?” At that moment, the image of the mountain peak came into view.

  Dorothy thanked her friends, hung up the phone, and walked to the door of the training room. “OK, I’ll take on the role,” said Dorothy said to the man and woman standing inside. They looked back at her with little concern. The man said, “Did we forget to mention that the role is only a temporary contract until the transition is complete?”

  Exactly seven months later…

  CHAPTER 5

  The Rescue of Tim Woods

  After Dorothy overcame the initial shock and worry of her new role being only a temporary one, she found herself engrossed in the task assigned to her. Managing a team of people, albeit a small one of three, was a role that Dorothy took to like a duck to water. Her compassion and openness ensured that her team quickly trusted and supported her. The project lasted seven months, which was longer than expected, due to the resistance of the remaining department to take on the additional responsibility and workload.