How I got myself in and out of an embarassing situation at work

This morning I have gotten into a worst situation I could ever get into at work. It all started with a call from my senior manager,let’s call him C for now, this morning while I had my immediate manager at my desk. I had asked C couple of days ago if he would have time to sit with me and discuss about another position with a different application we have within our group. Though the first instinct told me that I have to let my immediate manager know about my interest in this position, I kind of ignored it telling myself that its just going to be an informational session with C” , not like a real interview or anything. I even asked around people in my office on what the best approach would be and “them all” told me talk to C first. Again, for the 100th time in my life I went with what others told me instead of using my best judgment. Fast forwarding to this morning – C asked me if I had spoken to my immediate manager already, by this time, I can feel blood gushing to my ears(which happens to me when I am nervous, or in an awkward situation) and my heart pounding in my chest as my immediate manager was right next to me. I told C that I haven’t yet and he told me in a very casual voice to talk him and to express to him that I am interested in this other position within my group. By the time I hung up the phone , my immediate manager could already guess what was going on and asked with a corny sense of humor – “So when are you planning to tell me about this” , I was so embarrassed to look at his face. I apologized to him and told that I was not in this kind of situation before and I did not what the best approach would be in such a situation and that I was curious to know what the position was all about before I even started thinking about seriously pursuing it.

He said that it was okay and gave me good feedback on what kind of approach to take when in a situation like this. He mentioned one thing about how he thought that both of us had open communication and this incident made him think twice about the kind of professional relationship we shared. I apologized to him again and I told him that I was really sorry and did not mean to offend him in any way. He got over it and told me forget about it and put this behind us.

So for all you new Yuppies’ out there. Lessons to take away from my experiences are:

1.Think it through before you approach anyone above your manager in your organizational hierarchy.

2.Take only expert opinion. Don’t ask around anyone you see, because these folks don’t mean harm but they will advise you based on their life experiences.

3.Look at the situation based on the kind of relationship you have with your manager.

4.Take expert opinion but let the final decision be yours.

5.The first instinct is always...always always right when you are stuck in these kinds of situations.

Wall Street employee's humbling experience.

I was reading an article on WSJ and it ran jitters through my spine. The article was about a Wall Street employee who lost everything due to the market meltdown. This person, who was once earning more than 200, 000 dollars a year, now earns 25,000 dollars and works as an escort to seat hotel guests. It’s hard for me to comprehend how people can go through or cope up with such transitions in lifestyles. Reading through the article, I felt like this person was making good financial choices like having an emergency fund, a saving account etc but in spite of all that his family could not escape the wrath of a failing economy. While I work hard and hope that I never get myself into those situations, it’s often too easy to forget the life lessons. Give it a read; it might make you more committed to your financial goals. Hey, the wise always learn from “Other people’s mistakes”.