21/08/2026
I used to work in marketing events,
until Covid came along and prompted a huge career
change. It enabled me to do some really cool things -
like this picture where I got to ride Europe’s highest
and longest city zip line.
I was reflecting on that career recently as there was
one job where I really did not get on with my manager.
I found them utterly impossible to work with.
I was thinking about this and while it sucked at the
time, it highlighted the importance of treating every
other person with kindness and respect.
I remember one time, we ran a huge event. I felt really
proud of myself and the rest of the team for pulling it
off.
We had my performance review right after and I walked
in expecting a promotion.
I was SLATED!! They absolutely ripped me to shreds.
To them, nothing I had done was right.
It came completely out of the blue and knocked me
sideways. I was devastated that I had judged it so
wrong.
However, some of this needs to lay at their door. At no
point was this communicated to me. If they had
mentioned it before, we would have been on the same
page and could have worked to rectify things during
the event. It should not have been a surprise to me.
This taught me just how important communication is
and in particular, respectful communication.
Just because it's hard to say, doesn't mean it goes
unsaid. You can give constructive feedback kindly and
in a way that helps to lift someone up.
It's sad that I can't look back on that job fondly,
because we clashed so much (they clashed with most
other people too) but at least I learnt some really
important lessons on how to treat others, how to
support and coach and that failure really does make
you stronger.
I LOVE making people feel good in themselves. It's
easily the best and most important part of the job I do
now.
C xx
