Leadership

Consulting rule #1: Smile, nod, and translate chaos into meaning.  
Rule #2: Don’t let your sarcasm show.  
Rule #3: Break Rule #2 when appropriate.  

Trying to be client-friendly while carrying a sarcasm habit is like juggling flaming swords in a library: impressive if it works, disastrous if it doesn’t.

This is my daily dilemma: I’m in a customer-facing role, but my personality leans dry, cynical, and borderline allergic to buzzwords. I can steer through three political minefields per call and blueprint clarity from chaos, yet it still leaks out like House M.D.’s smirk when calling out bullshit.

If, after quitting your job, you hear or get notified about your ex-leader doing these :

1. Speaking negatively about your departure
2. Undermining your decision by criticizing you, your new role or company
3. Attempting to make you feel guilty
4. Spreading resentment throughout the organisation
5. Taking the resignation as a personal attack
6. Prioritizing their own interests over those of the team
7. Being absent or unavailable for the team during the transition
8. Spreading gossip about you
9. Delaying or writing vague performance appraisals or recommendations for you
10. Displaying an “it’s all about me” attitude
11. Failing to acknowledge their own mistakes or shortcomings
12. Blaming others for failures or problems within the team

These behaviours scream insecurity, selfishness, and a lack of confidence in building and retaining talent. They crush team morale, erode trust, and send a clear message to the rest of the team: ‘You’re disposable too.’

“I hate and categorically refuse quick wins”, I angrily yelled.
The managers in the meeting jumped. They weren’t used to seeing me lose my zen and calm temper so often.

“I have a huge ethical problem with this organisation’s culture of quick wins. We are adding more layers of band-aids before even healing the scares”, I continued.