Client Career Success Transformation:

**How Laura* Went From Shamed to Celebrated with the Career Sparkle Method**

The Situation

Laura contacted me because, after proposing some changes to her department, she was getting negative vibes from her boss that were making her uneasy.

She wanted a professional opinion on the situation and to get my take on if there was cause for concern, and how she could resolve the situation. She was feeling stuck, powerless, and muted, and needed help to move forward.

Professional Diagnosis

It wasn’t long into Laura’s worried account of her boss’s behavior that alarm bells began to ring. I told Laura that I hoped I was wrong, but it sounded to me like her boss was out to get her, and wouldn’t stop until she ousted Laura from the organization.

I noticed classic red flags like:

Her boss’s communications were very harsh and didn’t contain a glimmer of hope or any constructive encouragement…these were the words of a manager who wants to get rid of someone, not rehabilitate them
Her boss blocked her on Instagram and Facebook….doubly unprofessional as a boss shouldn’t really have a report as a social media friend….and deleting them when they aren’t performing is just childish
The boss showed the signs of being a micromanager….and Laura had committed the mortal sins against micromanagers: 1) Criticizing them, no matter how tactfully, deservedly, or mildly 2) Threatening them by demonstrating a higher level of competence…micromanagers fear more competent reports above all else

Big Truth

Based on this, I had to break it to Laura “This manager wants you out, and she’s not going to stop until you’re gone.”

At the time, Laura told me she didn’t think “it was that bad.” She determined to soldier on, try to get back on track with her boss, let some water go over the bridge, and hope everything was fine.

About a month later, I received this.

Aha Moment

Needless to say, Laura’s boss did keep coming for her. So much in fact that Laura was now on a performance plan. She booked an appointment with me to discuss how to respond to the performance plan.

This was when her Aha moment came. In order to decide how to proceed, Laura had to get clear on what she herself really wanted. We know knew where her boss stood. But where did Laura stand? To figure out that out, I posed my Bad Boss Decision Matrix to her:

Laura realized what she wanted was to leave the company, but on her own terms. We made an immediate plan to diffuse the current situation with her boss. We role-played what Laura would say and co-crafted an email to send back to her boss. Micromanagers thrive on subserviance, so this was essentially a groveling email to get back in the manager’s good graces. The communications worked like a charm, and Laura then worked with me to create a new resume, Linkedin profile, and interview scripts. She found a much better job and is now much happier.

*Success stories are real. Names and all personal details changed to protect client confidentiality.

Performance Plan SOS: From PIP to MVP