Tanya Semerad 0:00
Hi I'm Tanya Semerad, former lawyer and business leader turned coach and you're listening to high performance made simple, the show for people who want more clarity, influence and wellbeing, so you can live and lead more courageously unlock your full potential, and inspire others to do the same. Let's do this.
Tanya Semerad 0:49
Hello, my friend. In this episode, we're going to talk about redundancy. And I'll give you some ideas and next steps to consider if you've been made redundant. The bottom line is that no one is immune from being made redundant, not even the person who invented it. So if you haven't ever experienced redundancy, it's not stupid to consider that it might happen. At some stage in your career, it might happen to someone you know, it could be happening to someone you know right now. So it's great that you're here, because you'll be able to better help yourself and the people you care about. Should the tow cutter come into the building Chop, chop, don't even I'm am immune to redundancy, hard to believe I know. But I was made redundant when I was a lawyer. This was circa 2013, when the waves of the global financial crisis finally hit businesses in Brisbane, Australia. Now global and national companies operating in Australia, close their Brisbane offices first those are the first doors to close. To make matters worse, not too long after that being in Brisbane. I knew this. The Brisbane City Council released a new city plan to account for a trend they'd seen in the last two decades of population growth. So the council approved all these new high rises and mixed use developments to go up. But these new buildings that shot up, they all stayed empty, and totally spooky. For many years. I mean, you could see right through from one window straight out the other side. There was nothing and no one in there. But I've heard Brisbane is pretty epic now and back on its feet post COVID. So I'm keen to go and visit the place that I grew up in. I'm telling you this because there are clearly bigger things at play. When it comes to redundancy. There are macro economic reasons for redundancy. You weren't made redundant because of the micro economics of the individual decisions you made over your last year at work. But I get it. It doesn't mean that being made redundant doesn't hurt. I know it hurts. When I was a lawyer. I was working really hard. I still am now but this is within hours working really hard. Sometimes. I couldn't go home. I couldn't go home. So I'd take naps under my desk where the feet were the shoes go off. And then I'd shower at the gym across the road. Shout out to Fitness First platinum, my old haunt for keeping me sane and clean. It would turn out so that's right being a lawyer wasn't glamorous. I was photocopying a lot wrestling with the stapler. I was running to court at the last minute because my boss didn't show up or didn't feel like going. Most of the time I had no idea what the case was about. And then this one time, I was torn to shreds like torn to shreds by this judge who was up in his chair looming large, quite large, quite cranky. It was clearly put on some kind of restrictive diet that he didn't like and it definitely deprived him of a decent breakfast. He was so grouchy anyway, I gave that job, my blood, my sweat and most definitely some tears. I was even developing an auto immune disease in the background in my body without knowing the stress was triggering Hashimotos thyroiditis wonder if I should just say autoimmune disease but I had Hashimotos thyroiditis my hair was falling out. The skin on my hands and face was cracking and bleeding in the corners of your mouth and in the webbings of your hand. It was gross. You know, I'd shake someone's hand and it'd be all scratchy. Or I'd laugh too hard God forbid and the cracks in the sides of my mouth would crack open more. I was turning into the Joker anyway there I was. And there was no working from home my friend. So a sick day or leaving work early turned into unpaid time. Oh, my gosh. So one day when HR and my boss walked me into a small gray meeting room, it was kind of that hey, let's have a chat vibe. I knew something wasn't right. It didn't feel like a promotion, although I believe I was do one. So when they told me I was being made redundant, effective immediately, I was in shock. And no conversation, no pleasantries, no apology, nothing. I think by that point, HR was just so desensitized to the whole thing. Anyway, she just had names to strike off her list. And Tanya Semerad was struck off that list. But there was, you know, after everything I'd done, all the crap I'd taken I'd endured, the maximum effort I'd put in to be disrespected like this, and walked back to my desk, packed it up and went home. I was shaking. It was odd to be home. during daylight. I felt like I was having an out of body experience. For the next two weeks, I was hiding under my duvet day, my duvet day of devastation, and also redundancy, shame, I felt ashamed for being made redundant. So I was intermittently responding to texts, and frequently cursing and crying. I've taken it very personally. Then when I could I was checking the job boards. And because it was still the global financial crisis, there weren't many jobs available. I managed to get a couple of interviews at law firms, but I just felt fake. I felt fake. I felt like I felt like I was pretending I wanted to be there. I was still having that out of body experience. Like I was watching myself in the meetings. I still have dreams about this. I could see my mouth moving. And I seemed convincing. But I have no memory of what I said no, none whatsoever. The me redundancy wasn't just about getting another job and doing the same thing. For some people may be for you, it is going to be about getting back on that horse and galloping into another company, taking redundancy in your stride as an indication of the ups and downs and natural cycles in the economy, and not as an indication or a downer on your self worth. For me, however, this was a way more complex issue. This was an existential crisis, because for the first time, I was paying attention to that little voice, that little urge inside of me that was asking me to try something else. But who was I if I wasn't a lawyer, I'd spent almost six years studying training, qualifying to practice as a solicitor. A couple of years working as a solicitor, I earned the right to be a lawyer, an early mentor who I really looked up to and adored. He was so professional and caring. Mr. Joshua puffy, stood up in court for me to move mine mission in front of a panel of judges, so that I could practice law in Queensland. So this wasn't just my own doing. Others are the people in good faith helped me forge this identity. Was I letting them down? disappointing them? How about my colleagues? If they weren't made redundant? Would they still want to talk to me? Don't get me started on how disappointed and confused my parents were. The questions were overwhelming, and I was so sick of reacting to everyone around me. And feeling so out of control that I retreated. I retreated to myself to be with my self, self as in capital S, I devoured new self development books and found my way back to the older ones. With each day, I shut out the noise and the notifications and took the time to really look at myself and look at who I was becoming. The truth was that I didn't look up to the leaders at the law firm. As a woman, you're often told and look at the other women who inspires you. I looked at those women and those women didn't even look like women anymore. And I know that because I'd seen their progression in their employee pictures. I say it with love, but they'd become like the guys around them. And they could be found pulling on their RM million boots and walking down the hallways, swearing and guzzling beers in the company, corporate box. I said it is real. Now that wasn't me. And I never wanted to lose myself. And I never wanted to be worried about losing myself. So I didn't know enough yet. But I kept reading and I kept checking in with myself. This took a couple of weeks. And although I didn't see it at the time, redundancy was a gift. I turned redundancy into an opportunity to reimagine, change, and transform not only my career, but the way I worked. I didn't want to think
Tanya Semerad 10:33
about losing myself in other awful ways that would happen when one tries to fit in, become one of the people in the company. I wanted to think about bringing and being myself at work. My perspective totally shifted from that fear, fearful disempowered state, to trusting myself, and being in more of an empowered state with all this knowledge I was acquiring. So a few weeks after redundancy, I took a job as a receptionist at a car dealership, it was a BMW mini Ferrari dealership, I needed it to cover my expenses. Now this sounds like a weird move. But it was a strategic move. Because in my self discovery, just two weeks earlier, I realized I wanted to work in a creative yet commercial environment. So I'd set my sights on doing marketing for the BMW brand. Within three months of becoming that receptionist, I created a job for myself doing social media marketing for the group. It was a total reinvention dream come true. Seven months after that, it could have been less I got a job as a digital marketer at a creative agency. I kept stepping up. And then a year later, I doubled my pay at a bigger agency. Within a couple of years, I'd moved to London, and was headhunted for head of marketing positions for international businesses, which I accepted. So then kind of see that every year I changed companies, but not just for the hell of it. I did it for promotion. Now, don't get me wrong, I will always try to get the promotion internally first, as reasons I liked that company to join them enough in the first place and develop relationships with people I still keep in touch with today. But if they weren't ready for me, if that business wasn't ready for me, I went somewhere else. As I've learned, when businesses need you, they will cut you out. I was no longer going to work like a blind horse, this horse had her blinkers off. So how did I make so much progress, gain more meaning, and also have more fun being me at work? Well answer that with some ideas and next steps that you might consider for yourself. Here we go. Stop reading into redundancy with a victim's mindset. stop reacting to external experiences like this. And don't make what other people do or say, your benchmark to trigger decision making. In other words, don't wait till something has happened. Positive or negative? In order for you to make a change or make a decision. Keep asking yourself, Who do I need to become to level up and by level up I mean more progress. I mean, deeper meaning, leaving a legacy that you actually want to leave not one that you're just reacting to, and also where you can bring more joy to your journey. Because I guarantee you if you get progress and meaning in a career, but you don't get joy, you're gonna start looking somewhere else. Keep asking yourself who do I need to become to level up and you will go to your next level of personal and professional evolution. You're begging it you're asking the question when you ask the question, your subconscious mind will start to come up with the answers. But you need to be clear on who you are. And this is my next point. Get self clarity. Get relationships, clarity, get gold clarity, get habits clarity, all of these jewels of clarity when strung together give you greater perspective, give you greater clarity. Now I've got short and sharp episodes to help you do that. So go check them out episodes two to five the links. I'll also put in the show notes. Protect time every day to think about who you need to become to level up. Start a morning routine that allows you to do three core things one, move your body to read something pause sitive and three, write, write what you are thinking about what you're going through what you're looking forward to how you want to be what you're clear on the revelations you've had, the breakthroughs you're making, write that down and put the date on, it's so much fun to go back through these diaries and read how far you've come. Finally, put pen to paper and get those dreams, those dreams floating around in your head and capture them in ink. Always better to write than to type. Now from this list, start to filter out your true dreams and desires, from the dreams and desires of other people. So what's really you and what's really a people pleasing or ideal that someone else had and was trying to live through you maybe. So, other people's stuff could be from your parents or caregivers, it could be from your colleagues, what you see your friends doing, differentiate between that stuff, and your true desires, because they, they could very well be different. You don't want to spend your life chasing someone else's dreams, then get to your deathbed, thinking, I've just wasted my time. It's true, people do think that so work your true desires, then into goals, prioritize those goals, and then circle the ones you're working on this year. 12 months from today, from today, for the next 365 days, get specific about the steps you need, and then map them out in your calendar. And start with just 30 and 60 days from today. Even if you don't know what the action items are supposed to be. It could be learn what I don't know. Understand adult learning theory, I'm an adult now learning stuff, not a kid. So that's what I did with marketing. I enjoyed the creativity and commerciality of marketing when I did it back in business school, but I didn't know the practical ins and outs of marketing. So I set up the 30 and 60 day action plan to understand the landscape of marketing, literally marketing 101 and the different types and functions in business. And I blocked out time before work after work in my lunch break. To do that. Then I gained core marketing skills for example, copywriting, website design, email marketing, social media, advertising, online billboard design, and I scheduled time to learn those as well. That's why within three months of being a receptionist, after having been a lawyer, I was able to become a marketing professional. Have an evening ritual where you reflect on how well you stay true to yourself. Because you're going to get thrown a whole heap of curveballs during your day, you're going to find yourself in reactive mode, not initiator mode now, are you showing up as your best self. So you need to know yourself clarity, and you need to know whether you've lived in alignment with it that day. They're just words if you don't, so you need to know how you've been that day, you need to know what you need to do tomorrow. And you need to be clear on how this fits into your overall year plan. This is how you maintain clarity. It's not just about gaining at once. It's about gaining and maintaining clarity because guess what? A person of influence then someone who gets stuff done in this world has to give clarity to other people in business, in relationship in their families everywhere. You are the average of the five people that you hang out with the most media social media is all included. So check who you're spending the most time with? Do you like your average? If not, add some new connections in some new mentors, add some new friends to your tribe and increase your score increase that average get a coach coaches and mentors. They're both great but quite different. And the core differences are challenge, accountability and momentum. So I'll do my next episode on how to choose mentors and coaches because you need both so stay tuned for that. We're running through a lot here and you're doing so well. Here's another one. Commit to your physical health. Move your body every day. It's that simple. Go for a walk. If it's horrific weather outside do some body conditioning inside some press up some crunches go old school hello YouTube is that famous guy that everyone was talking about? I never really got into it but Joe wicks or someone I mean they've got stuff online Instagram Hello, go I look on there for workouts, move your body every day and clean out the crap. Clean out the preservatives, the chemicals were possible. And I know organic is not necessarily affordable. So do what you can, right now. An easy one is drink more water, at least a glass every hour and double that. If you drink tea or coffee.
Tanya Semerad 20:25
Here's another one, do a big check in with yourself every month, and an even bigger self reflection ritual, every quarter. So every three months, and my friend, keep asking yourself who do I need to become, to level up to level up in my world to level up in the world. Because if you keep doing this, nothing can rock you. Nothing can stop you nothing can bring you down. I applied the same principles to then evolve my career from marketing professional to coach. With all these principles, you don't have to be made redundant. Or you don't have to experience a huge life shock or some crazy trauma to start these practices that will give you more clarity, that will give you self confidence and will give you a whole heap more direction. It's never too late, you're never stuck. The more you know, the better you can do. Remember, everyone is doing the best they can with the knowledge and experience they have at the time. The bodies and the goodies are what separates them. The more you know, the better you can do the more you know, the more we can find and create ways to be more you and get paid for it so you can sustain your mission sustain how you want to live. This has been a pretty deep episode. So thank you so much. We're getting to the end. Thank you for listening. I hope you enjoyed this. And if you'd like to support the high performance made simple podcast. You won't make me redundant. Please share it with three awesome people. Maybe they're your mates, maybe their colleagues. Maybe it's your love partner in life. To catch latest from me. You can follow me on LinkedIn at Tanya Semerad or Instagram or Tiktok if that's where you'd like to hang out at Tanya underscore highperformance I'm always trying something new. Hopefully it's entertaining. I look forward to tuning in with you again soon. Ciao for now.
