“Brother, the soil is fertile, and I see someone cultivating the seed.
It can see it is coming, and it will be here.
But I am not here asking you to help solve my problem—I only want you to listen to me and, if required, suggest something. If there is nothing to offer, it’s okay, and we can also talk later.”
I was thrilled and a bit nervous to know what would come from this man’s mouth, and I didn’t interrupt; the man continued as if he was full and wanted to get empty.
He continued…
I will be on PIP (Performance Improvement Plan) in a month or two, and I have no job offers, interviews, or freelance work. What a terrible state of feeling terrible 😦
For the past week, as I observe myself, I have had a gut feeling and a weird sense that I am ready for it. Of course, when I say it, I mean PIP and failure to meet PIP’s unreasonable demands. But at the same time, I am calm and stable to a reasonable extent, and I know where this feeling and sense of calmness and stability are coming from, and I will talk later about this!
After spending 15+ years in the industry, why should I be afraid? What’s wrong with my understanding of my knowledge, experience, practice, capabilities, and abilities to find /crack opportunities? Why am I in self-doubt? What are my worries?
I am not afraid of all this, and this sign wave of feeling secure, then secure, then secure, then insecure is now turning into a straight line.
At the same time, I don’t know what exactly to do. I have ideas like restarting, looking for a job, starting a business, doing this and that. Crap!
Then it was a few moments of awkward silence between us.
And as my friend said all the words in the lines I typed above, I listened to him carefully and calmly.
I have known this man for 6-7 years now, and we have spent some good time discussing and partially solving some common and slightly tricky problems labeled as midlife crisis for a knowledge work professional(s).
This man is a critical-thinking tester and a passionate performer but still faces such performance issues. After listening to all this, I was not feeling good, but I held my horses.
Going into PIP is a painful and humiliating experience, especially when you know from the bottom of your heart and mind that it is just a trick to get you out of the door but in an ill-planned and organized manner.
It also becomes more frustrating when you face it at a time when a large portion of the market seems to be getting into a depressed state caused by the recession.
Such conversations are not unusual these days. For example, another friend, a clean coder, and a straightforward person, was forced to leave by misusing PIP!
PIP can be a tool for getting something useful done. It shall be used as a device that a designated person in an organization decides to use when regular feedback to an employee is not yielding desired and mutually agreed upon outcomes, and there is enough reasoning and evidence to believe that it is good to initiate a PIP.
At the same time, I know that a fool with a tool is still a fool!
Nevertheless, I was there to listen, absorb, and come back to think about possible solutions for my friend.
I took his leave and started to home, guessing about a distinct PIP which looked like something below…
Prioritize and Prepare a Quick and Practical plan to avoid/handle PIP with a stable mindset. Mull your options and prioritize based on career goals, risk(s) appetite, and financial/personal responsibilities.
Initiate – Find a trusted advisor and accountability Partner, share your plan, kick off execution and
Progress check is critical; stay consistent, focused, and worry-free because your first goal is to avoid and not face PIP. Suppose you are prepared enough to grab an opportunity before PIP crosses your way.
Sandeep Garg Student of Software Testing
testing journey Redefined 