Paid or Principled
Warning: This post contains course language and political content.
I have been debating whether or not to share this for some days now.
Because, well, it doesn't exactly cast me in the light of 'Professional Expert' that I want to be seen in, and tales of your snotting with tears messing up your makeup generally should not be shared with potential clientele.
But, I honestly believe that if we don't incorporate the fullness of our humanity into the workplace constructs we expect and experience, we will ALL eventually be irrelevant and replaceable. (Yes, the robots are coming.)
Moreso than at any other time in my memory, we are required to be clear on who we are and what our core principles are in the context of our work. Our personal politics, unless or until they conflict with the SPIRIT of the law, should and must be a part of our workplace brand.
I'm not talking about preferences (because if I never have to listen to 80's Easy Rock in the elevator and common spaces of a workplace again it will be too soon! I mean, would some Smooth Jazz or instrumental Afrobeats KILL you once in a while?!) but the core of 'this is who I am, and more importantly, what I bring to how I work.'
So, here's WHAT HAPPENED (abridged version):
Picture it. Dallas office. 2025. (gulps a mouthful of cheesecake )
A fetching young-ish attorney with beautiful ebony skin and hair coiffed by the gods (Look, I gotta make myself look good some kinda way in this woeful tale) is going about her work in her usual "put out all the fires while throwing sand at the smoking embers of potential fires" approach, when an 'URGENT' email comes in.
She immediately calls the email's sender (a firm client who is an HR Director) as requested. (This is what the retainer relationship is - prompt attention.)
Fetching Attorney: Hey....(let's call her Emse, short for Email Sender) "Hey Emse, what's up?"
Emse: Goes on her long circuitous route of giving details, which summarily amount to:
Employee in their extremely southern Texas location did not come to work.
Employee's spouse (who also works there) came in late.
Employee's spouse reports that her husband is not there because he has been detained, along with a number of other family members and neighbors, despite being a legal resident, who committed no crime and who is authorized to l1ve and work in the United States.
Employee's spouse is visibly upset and slower than usual.
Now get this. Esme is calling because as their HR Director, she instructed the Manager to:
Write up the Employee for a "No Call/No Show". (Employee was released and did return to work).
Write up Employee's spouse for not hitting her daily quota numbers that day (manufacturing facility).
Write up the Manager who she instructed to do these write-ups and who hesitated and instead mentioned it to the COO (the owner's husband).
The COO told Emse to call me, which Emse is attributing to "them being scared cuz of all the political stuff".
Fetching Attorney (ok, yes, it's me): *takes a DEEP breath*
Now, I could just say what's in my head, which is: "No! Are you crazy? Who raised you?" But that's not how Inside Counsel builds relationship and trust, so....
Me: *explains that according to company policy, yes she TECHNICALLY could do those things.....*
Also Me: "That being said, let me just offer you another perspective to consider. You can do those things, but let me explain how by adhering to policy in this one limited circumstance, you might undermine other efforts and initiatives you've been working on..."
Still me: *explains that in her small town, with over 90% of her workforce being part of an immigrant and/or minority community, this might do more harm, particularly considering a large contingent of their customer base is also from that immigrant/minority community. And whereas this close knit, conservative, "law and order" community values adherence to rules, they might see it a bit differently if one of the two white people in the company starts enforcing a rule in this completely anomalous situation, particularly when it wasn't enforced in what could be seen as a comparable situation that involved a person of a different race in another politically charged situation a year and a half ago.
Esme: SILENCE.
Me: Hello? Are you there? Esme?
Esme: "You know Maxine, I've been feeling this for a while. You just seem to be out of touch with us, and what we need to do here. We're trying to run a business here, not be a part of an agenda. I can't do this with you anymore. I think me bringing you on was a mistake.
Me: Esme, as always, I'm offering you advice. I'm advising you on what is legally permissible and telling you what exposure you have if you take an alternate route. I am not - I CAN NOT - give you direction. You, as part of your business decision, decide if you want to take my advice.
Esme: No Maxine. You always want to tell me "the exposure". I'm tired. I'm sorry but you're fired.
Now, this is the part where I would like to tell you I was completely unfazed because I knew I had done nothing wrong.
That my faith in DIVINE was deep and my confidence in my ability was strong so I was calm because I knew better was coming.
Nope. Not even close.
Eventually, those perspectives became clear.
But initially? I bawled. Literal tears. Sobbed into my pillow wailed.
Here I was, a solo, recently back on my own (by choice, but still!) and I LOST a client. One of the few "pay-on-time-no-issues-with-the-invoice" clients I had? Noooooooo.......
Should I have just shut up?
Let her set up to fire these two people (which I could see coming from a mile away)?
Did it matter if I thought it was wrong if it was legal?
My conclusion: It matters. It matters that your work be impacted by and infused with your moral code. That your ethical paradigm align with your workplace construct. Soul dissonance will impact the quality of the work product you deliver.
So, how did this turn out?
Outcome below.
It's ALL working together for my good. 😊
Written By: T. Maxine Woods-McMillan, Esq of Equity Esquire
