Be Someone's Advocate

Lay-off Tip #5: Be an advocate for someone in your life

When I first became a manager, one of the most important things to me was the well-being of my staff. I wanted them to know that no matter what happened, they had someone who had their back. Someone who would be their biggest fan when they were down and someone who would push them to go further. And so I quickly realized that the most important thing to me as a leader, was to be an advocate.

After being laid off, having an advocate is more important than ever. Someone who supports you and sings your praises long after you are gone. Someone who will go to bat for you not because of what you can do for them now, but because of what you've done for them in the past.

I am lucky to have that advocate in my life. Shoot, I am fortunate to have a lot of advocates in my life. I know that when I cannot speak for myself, someone will speak for me. When I cannot be somewhere to lead in person, someone will interpret my past teachings. And when it starts to feel like I've been replaced, someone will say, "you can replace the position, but never the person."

Think about the people who mean the most to you. Take time this week to show how much you care about them...especially when they're not around. Be someones advocate. Let someone know that they are not alone. If you live like this every day, when you need an advocate the most, they will be there.

Rachael