#getfiredthenfireup
By: Arti Kumria
Tags: Careers, Anna Wintour, Gender, Career Advice, Women In Leadership

Finally, if the vibe turns sour and the company decides to clean house, don’t sweat it. It could be the best thing that ever happened to you. Consider some of the most influential people in their fields — Anna Wintour (fashion), JK Rowling (literature), Sallie Krawcheck (finance) — they have all been let go and are now at the top of their game.

Anna Wintour was fired… but is now the most influential figure in fashion

It may feel like shit at the time — and it is. You feel rejected and dejected, as if no one appreciates your value or talent. It may make you question whether you have that talent at all. That slowly eats away at your confidence and begins a downwards spiral from which it can be hard to recover.

But try to get into a different headspace by focusing on the good stuff — the skills you gained, the good leaders you met, the industry rules you learned. (Plus you want to ensure the bastards don’t win.) You should leave any job with a reasonably healthy self-esteem. If your spirit has been broken, you’ve invested too much in a firm that hasn’t invested in you.

Remember that if you’ve been fired for being too avant-garde in your field, you are a pioneer. You’re ahead of your time. You think different. All geniuses are compelled to be irreverent — that’s how progress is made.

Think Anna getting booted by US Harper’s Bazaar for fashion shoots that were ‘too edgy’. As a junior fashion editor at Harper’s in the mid 1970s — her first job in New York after moving over from London — she was told she was too ‘European’ and would ‘never understand the American market’. She lasted nine months before the Editor-in-Chief cut her loose. Clearly, suffering this setback pushed her to be better, improve her game and enjoy a little humility. (We all need that, genius or not.)

Think also of Sallie getting the sack as CEO of Citigroup’s wealth management business for being ‘too honest’ in speaking up for investors getting their money back after receiving bad advice. That’s despite the character trait earning her the reputation of being ‘the last honest analyst’ on Wall Street years earlier. Ouch.

Sallie Krawcheck recast her rep after high-profile dumpings. Credit: Ellevest

Yet another firing was around the corner. Just two years later, Sallie was dumped as President of Global Wealth and Investment Management for Bank of America. Double ouch.

But the Wall Street titan-turned-entrepreneur took charge and simply recast her fine reputation in the wake of these high-profile dumpings. As Chair of Ellevate, a woman’s network, and CEO of Ellevest, a digital investment platform she co-founded for women, Sallie has shifted her rep from ‘one of the most powerful women in finance’ to ‘one of the most powerful women in finance working for women’. Much better fit, much cooler gig.

Anna, JK and Sallie now lead their fields for a reason. Your talent belongs elsewhere. You too will find a better home for it.

Getting fired is an obvious (and painful) kick that you can’t ignore. But it tells you less about you and more about the fearful, ignorant, cowardly or backward-looking manager or organisation that you worked for. Don’t look back. You’re better off without them — your talent would not have developed while you worked there because small minds fail to see greatness or, if they do, are challenged by it and seek to get rid of it. Those managers will never become leaders and never inspire; they are destined for mediocrity. And they would have held you back. Be grateful they set you free.