by Will Emaus

Created on: November 13, 2009

I used to work under this Vice President who seemed to take a pure joy in demoting people out of Management; most of whom had been in their role for many years.

It was probably one of the saddest things that I've seen in Business, these quite competent business people that had been broken by being stripped of their authority.

I learned some things about what types of people I worked with by witnessing some of their reactions to this-

Stay focused-There were not very many Supervisors or Managers that were capable of staying client-driven after losing authority. The ones that did were a marvel though. Especially in a Corporate setting, where management teams come and go, the workers who shook off the disappointment and stayed dedicated to overall Company and Customer goals, wound up finding their way back up the ladder soon enough, whether it was in the same location or being given another opportunity in a different department.

Be a Mentor-Obviously the natural reaction to a demotion is to close up and secretly hope that whoever got promoted up the ladder not succeed; however in many cases it isn't the fault of the person that got the promotion into your old spot and by being available for advice and guidance, you again send a message to the workforce that you are a quality source of information and a class person. Good people will not only respect but flat out admire someone who has temporarily lost their shine but continues to mentor the current management team. This not only helps the person dealing with the loss of authority continue to stay valuable, this is a person that workers will go to bat for when new promotions become available.

Don't Sabotage-Many employees, when faced with an impending demotion, will seek greener pastures or simply a change and a fresh start. Some stay in their newly assigned position and attempt to poison the operation with their personal misfortune. This can be an extremely effective tool to try and make the new regime fail; but although it's tempting to do it's the worst possible move for your career. Following up a demotion with a scathing negative review based on attitude can almost ensure that the downward spiral will not correct.

Lateral Promotion-If demoted, it's possible that by keeping a positive attitude and persevering that you can outlast the managment team or person responsible for your demotion. If that doesn't seem likely however, taking a lateral move (lateral compared to your new position) into a different department or group will not only provide new challenges, but will also provide the affected employee with a different team to work for and with. This can also jump start a career back into the right direction and mask any negative interpretation that could be in your work record because of the demotion. Quite often displaced Supervisors and Managers ask for and will get this, so they can be given an opportunity to make a positive impression somewhere else...

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