Alan Stein, a high-performing employee at Google, was recognized as a “Great Manager” in 2016, a title given to only 25 employees each year.
Less than six months later, he was fired.
The catalyst? Stein’s momentary lapse in judgment during a conversation with a co-worker.
Stein recalls saying something like, “I don’t have the f - - king time to deal with this f - - king brain-damaged guy,” referring to a team member who had suffered a traumatic brain injury in a bike accident.
Although he apologized, Google’s management initiated an investigation that culminated in his termination from the company.
Seven years later, Stein is the founder and CEO of bustling startup Kadima Careers, which helps job seekers navigate the interview process and negotiate their salaries. But was what Stein did so bad?
Google chose not to comment, but did Stein’s outburst warrant being fired?
“Mistakes, we all make them. We are human,” said Eduardo Briceño, author of “The Performance Paradox: Turning the Power of Mindset into Action” (Ballantine Books). “Some errors lead to termination, while others become catalysts for improvement, innovation and serve as valuable lessons leading to professional growth.”
Consider the case of Anna Peterson, owner of Anna’s Essence, a beauty salon formerly in Flushing, Queens.
Peterson accidentally dyed a customer’s hair green instead of ash blond. The mistake surfaced mid-application, so Peterson worked tirelessly to correct the color, and extended complimentary pampering services to make amends.
The mistake cost Peterson time and money and put her salon’s reputation at risk, but also offered her an important lesson and led to new procedures that ensure something like that never happens again.
“This incident was humbling and taught us the invaluable lesson of double-checking our work, especially when under pressure,” said Peterson. “It led to the implementation of a two-person verification system which eradicated such errors and unexpectedly improved team collaboration.”
In a parallel narrative, Tihanna Louise McCleese, an ambitious news reporter in San Francisco, once faced a career-altering mistake.
Eager to make a mark, McCleese covered a high-profile story about an Iraq War veteran shot by police. Under immense pressure to win an exclusive interview, McCleese snuck into the ICU of the hospital that was treating the vet. While her reporting initially garnered national attention and praise, the consequences were severe — including a furious boss.
On reflection, McCleese acknowledged her flawed response to the situation, but “the experience highlighted the importance of ethical decision-making, effective communication and taking responsibility for mistakes,” she said.
These invaluable lessons gave birth to McCleese’s current work as a coach and consultant at Tihanna Louise Careers.
When it comes to professional advancement, résumés are often considered key. And although lying on them is apparently commonplace, “don’t do it. If you deliberately lie and get caught, it’s over,” said Marlo Lyons, a career coach and award-winning author of “Wanted -> A New Career: The Definitive Playbook for Transitioning to a New Career or Finding Your Dream Job” (Future Forward Publishing).
Too bad that congressman “Lyin’ ” George Santos didn’t follow her advice.
Mistakes in the C-suite may also be prevalent, “only their miscalculations tend to be sins of omission,” said Jerry Colonna, author of “Reunion: Leadership and the Longing to Belong” (Harper Business).
You don’t have to prove that to Trent Griffin-Braaf, CEO and founder of Tech Valley Shuttle, a Cohoes, NY, company that aims to combat poverty through transportation.
“One of the biggest mistakes I made was not removing someone from the team sooner than we did,” he said, adding that because the individual brought valuable expertise, he turned a blind eye to his lack of people skills.
“That misjudgment cost the company money in lost wages, rehiring and training new employees because of high turnover [and] because of the toxic traits this person had. The morale of the team was down. You could feel it in the air,” said Griffin-Braaf. Once he handed the employee his pink slip, morale went back up.
Mistakes happen to the best of us, so here’s how to discuss common blunders in the professional realm and what to do to address them.
Living a lie
Mistake: Spicing up your résumé with a dash of fiction about your experience, education, skills and/or job history.
Fallout: Lost credibility, getting fired or being charged with fraud.
Advice: Tell the truth, or risk facing the consequences. Getting caught in a lie could cost you your job or leave you in a perpetual state of anxiety. If you’ve had a change of heart post-fib but haven’t landed a new gig, hustle to the applicant portal and straighten out your records before anyone notices. And if the cat’s out of the bag, but you’re still hanging on, it’s time to dust off that true résumé and start hunting for a fresh opportunity.
Fight club
Mistake: A fiery clash with a colleague, creating an untenable working relationship that’s contagious.
Fallout: Challenges in collaboration and cooperation, leading to issues within the team.
Advice: Resist the urge to throw shade at each other when chatting with your colleagues. If the two of you are unable to find a resolution independently, seek assistance from the human resources department.
Turning a blind eye
Mistake: You’re the manager and you took too long to fire an obnoxious a–hole whose expertise you needed.
Fallout: Now, you’re grappling with a shortage in manpower, and it’s akin to attempting to juggle flaming torches without enough hands.
Advice: Re-recruit the people who left, or make hiring a priority. In the future, painful as it is to let people go, do it or live with the damage.
Fiscal irresponsibility
Mistake: You’ve been compensating for your undervalued status by turning the company credit card into a magic wand for personal expenses.
Fallout: When you get caught, you’ll look like a thief — and that’s because you are.
Advice: Come clean, and maybe claim you didn’t do it on purpose. But even if it was, dash over to accounting pronto to figure out how you can patch things up and pay the company back every penny.
