Today I walked through an empty warehouse, powered down the internet connection, collected the last IT equipment for recycling, turned off the lights, and locked the door.

For almost six years, I was often the one to handle the difficult conversations, the one to stop and drop everything to run halfway across the state to handle an emergency because we needed boots on the ground. Terminations, restructuring staff, the meetings nobody wants to be in, a fraction of my work but just as critical as anything else. That just became my job while building out an enterprise grade IT environment for the company (IT that just worked and stayed out of the way). The kind of work that never ends up in a job description, but the kind of work that finds the person willing to do it.

After a few years it became a running joke. If I showed up to a job site unexpected, the first question was “who’s getting let go now?” followed by “Bryan’s going to be the last one here. And if Bryan’s gone, we’re all done anyway.” Polite chuckles. It was always in good fun. I never took it personal and teased them right back.

Every single person I was tasked to let go from the company I tried to do so with as much dignity, respect and empathy as I could provide regardless of the reasons for the termination. Even in rough cases I still reached out and offered my hand in parting.

My time with this company is now past tense. And I was, in fact, the last one out the door. No handshake. No hug. No “you did your best.

If you’ve ever been the person in your org who does the work nobody else wants to do, you already know how this story ends. You don’t get a ceremony. You get an empty building and a set of keys to return.

And you look for the next chance to do the right thing where you can.

#OpenToWork. #Leadership