A friend of mine works at a major hospital in the area, on the foundation / donations side. The hospital is a nonprofit, but that doesn't mean they don't make money. Quite the opposite: they make mountains of money. Also they collect a lot in donations.
A few weeks ago my friend told her boss that she wanted to pursue an opportunity in another part of the hospital, on the corporate side. Her boss gave it his blessing. As part of the effort she also spoke to her skip level manager (her boss's boss), because she wanted to give him a heads up and get his feedback. This was a courtesy, because she wanted to be professional and transparent with her manager and team. Seems reasonable, since she has been a top performer in the time she has been there, is popular with her doctors and her donors. Also they just offered her a multi-year contract to stay in the foundation that included a 150% raise (not a typo), which she rejected, because she does not want to manage anyone, and also does not want to limit her options.
The meeting with the skip level manager, a white mormon man in his early 60's, did not go well. He took the fact that she rejected the contract offer personally, so he rejected her request to change departments, told her explicitly that she would never work anywhere but her current role in her current department, that he would not recommend her to the CEO, and said, "I am going to talk to you like I would talk to one of my kids...", and explained that she needed to 'wait her turn'. It was ageist, condescending, and mean. It's fine to disagree with someone in a professional context, but this was not that; this was personal.
My friend proceeded with her original plan: met with the CEO, got strong buyin from him, and got busy making a case for a role on the corporate side. She also told me she expected some type of hazing from her VP, but that hoped that her boss would insulate her from most of it.
So how did her boss insulate her from the hazing? By trying to get her fired for cause.
Fast forward to yesterday, when she was asked to attend a meeting with her manager. My friend arrived to find her manager flanked by an HR flack, and they interrogated her about some appointments in her calendar. Their main issue was that she had an appointment somewhere on a Friday afternoon and when it got canceled she worked from the site of the appointment (another Hoag location) instead of coming back to the office. There was another issue with 'calendar hygiene' as well, related to a contact from earlier in the year. She was accountable, honest, and got the work done as asked. So the issue is not the work, it's the appearance of the work. Seriously.
For these two 'offenses' she was given a three day suspension, effective immediately, and walked out of the building.
Why would they try to fire their top producer over the past two years for some trivial calendar discrepancies?
Are calendar discrepancies like this even grounds for termination? (No, not at any place I have worked, or heard of, especially for what is a senior outside sales role. You are supposed to be in front of customers / donors; not sitting at your desk.)
My friend quit before they fired her, and while she could sue it's too much hearsay and he-said/she-said for it to really go anywhere. Only the lawyers will get rich. So in two weeks she went from being a respected, much in-demand employee that they offered a years-long contract and asked to mentor other talent to being suspended for violations in her calendar and likely fired for cause.
How does that happen? What changed? Did she not show enough deference? Did she fail to recognize how petty and vindictive people can be?
My friend will be fine - she is smart and good at her job and well connected. As traumas go, this one is minor, and recoverable.
It's hard to appreciate how quickly an encounter with a powerful egomaniac can derail your career prospects at a company until you see it firsthand. This is definitely not the first time that Flynn Andrizzi, shitbag that he is, has acted maliciously. It's never the first time, and never the only time. Hoag Hospital Foundation will be stuck with low performers and a shitty team until he dies or rides off into the sunset. That day cannot come soon enough.
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