A Second Chance

A Second Chance

It was her last day at work. She had done the rounds of her friends, her colleagues and paid her necessary visits to her managers. She had also prepared her sayonara mail. She was asked to leave by her manager. Performance, he said. Not very clear, for this came as a bolt from the blue. She felt bad initially but then swallowed her pride and decided to exit peacefully.

She was heading to the cafeteria when she bumped into her reporting manager’s boss. A kind man. He asked her how she was. Obviously, he did not know. She broke it gently to him. He was taken aback. He asked her to come to his cabin post lunch. Meantime, he called the manager and checked on her performance. Appeared to be something that was bothering her at home.

It was a short meeting with her. He did not want her to go and asked her to move to another team and a different manager (who was more empathetic). He said, he had full faith in her abilities and hoped she would find her edge. Meantime, she had already secured another job elsewhere with a decent hike in compensation. But, something in that meeting and the way the leader spoke got her to rethink. She withdrew her resignation.

Time moved on, all of six months. She was doing well. Her team loved her, and she loved her team. Her manager was supportive. She gave it all. Again, by chance, she met the leader, and he asked her to stop by his office. She gushed about her state of happiness. She asked him, why he wanted her to stay back. He took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling with a far-away gaze. Said that many years ago he was given a second chance.

Many times, it is a matter of a trust reposed in someone. Time given to the individual to get back the much-needed confidence. One weighs performance against the circumstances. The manager smiled. It was one of those moments. He remembered when his manager gave him a second chance. Perhaps that was a chance to prove to himself that he was good.

He wished her well. Now, it was her turn and she smiled at him with moistened eyes.