let me tell u what i heard...

               

                About 15 years ago I worked at this company that, in trying to stay one step ahead of the curve, was taking ten steps backwards, every few months .They had consultants both  moving us from department to  department, based on our strengths or weaknesses like chess pieces, or changing the divisions of the company to which our departments reported for about a year until they got it right. From month to month, I had no loyalty to my supervisor because I had a different one every few months.  Then my department, Underwriting, went from reporting to Actuarial to reporting  to Finance (with Actuarial eventually reporting to Finance as well) over the weekend, I began to worry. On that following  Monday morning I would be reporting to Angela Moffet (not her real name). That previous Friday, I was warned by at least 5 different people in the company who didn’t even know each other,  that, “you are not going to like her. She’s a total b#@*h. Be careful. No one gets along with her. She’s a troublemaker. She's evil. I wouldn't wish her on my worst enemy.”

                My weekend was wrecked. I was almost paralyzed by fear. I had nightmares of this woman , my new boss, instantly hating me and firing me on the spot. I would be crying while running through the Sales office and hiding underneath a desk!  I prayed and prayed, and when Monday morning came, I reluctantly went to work. I reported to her, mentally preparing myself for the onslaught.  I had decided I was going to be as friendly, as sociable and as much a team player as I could possibly be within reason.

But guess what?

I don’t know if it’s because their opinions  of Angela were based on a personality clash she may have had with one person and it had spread throughout the company or if she really was that type of person to other people. All I know is that, just by being myself, and not bending over backwards or jumping through any hoops to please her, not only did we not clash, not even once, but she became one of the best supervisors I have ever had.

Even when I started job-hunting outside the company and I asked her for a reference, she asked me to write it and she’d sign it. We even shared jokes. Whenever we had to go to Green Bay for meetings we even shared the same car. Most of my coworkers disliked her, but we got along pretty well. A few of my coworkers resented our business relationship, but to reiterate, I did nothing to make her be nice to me.

I say all this to say that, I do listen to what people say, but I take it with a grain of salt. I appreciate being warned of danger ahead because it helps me to proceed with caution, and it allows me to pray for direction (s) before entering the danger zone.
I also know that just because someone  thinks someone is evil doesn’t mean  I will experience that evilness. It doesn’t mean we will have shared experiences. It also doesn’t mean the person rumored to be evil  is indeed, evil.

My mother used to say that when you point a finger at someone, you have 3 fingers pointing back at you.