How I almost got fired

It was a dark rainy morning in 2006 when my bicycle's wheels splashed through water pools as high as my ankles.

As a Dutchman, I had two bicycles. One in Rotterdam to cycle to the train station and one from the train station in Leiden to my workplace. Thanks to my "Dutch rain suit," it was a waterproof ride on days like these.

Almost ten minutes into the bicycle ride, I made the final turn. From there on, it was just 500m of straight road to the warehouse for H&M, where I recently got promoted to warehouse director as a 24-year-old. A promotion that, at the time, felt beyond my capabilities. But I took it anyway, with determination to make it work.

With a feeling of relief to almost be there, something unusual caught my eye.

In the distant dawn, with my wet eyes, I saw a group of people standing outside in front of the building. At first, I thought a fire alarm must have gone off, and people had to evacuate. False alarms did happen regularly.

Getting even closer, I saw that around 20 to 25 people out of a total of 200 in the total workforce stood outside. That couldn't be a fire alarm; everyone would have stood outside.

This was something else.

The people standing outside were holding something above their heads. What was that? Curious to find out, I pushed it to close in faster.

What I saw then made me shiver.

The people were holding banners with a message. They wanted to tell ME something on that dark, cold rainy morning in November.

"We want Leon gone." said their banners.

They were angry, and they wanted me to leave. That message, paired with their angry faces, is still vividly burned in my mind.

Was this the end of my new job?

With a trembling underlip, I asked them what this was all about. They told me I had nothing to do with their private lives and wanted me gone.

Confused, I tried to understand more and asked why.

It is a shame! We don't want to work on Saturdays, and you are forcing us to do it. The Saturdays are our lives, and you have nothing to say about our lives!

OK, I see, I said. We can talk about this later on. Let me go inside, and I will get back to you. Why don't you also get back inside because it's cold and rainy out here?

I fled the crime scene asking myself, What have I done?

I knew...

Three weeks before that day, the head office HQ asked me to extend the warehouse operations from 5 to 6 days. It was going well with the sales at the shops in the Netherlands. And to keep up with demand, they asked us for more weekly deliveries.

To me, it was exciting! It meant we played an essential part in the success of H&M in the Netherlands. I told HQ no problem. And so, I gathered the whole workforce of 200+ people into one large room. With an inspiring speech, I told them how great our company is doing and how we can contribute to its growth.

Then I dropped the bomb: We would also work on Saturdays.

The room was silent. I scanned the faces—a plethora of emotional expressions. One person asked what would happen if he wouldn't come. I said this was for everyone and would start next month.

Angry faces left the room. I thought, well.. not very smooth, but mission accomplished.

Nothing was further from that thought...

Three weeks after the announcement, people stood outside, striking because of me. About 150 people said they could not work on Saturday. They complained to the work council and got permission to protest against me.

What could I do?

I called for help from the HR department in HQ that dark, rainy morning, desperate. Explaining the whole situation to the Head of HR for H&M Netherlands, the other side of the line stayed quiet.

Then the guy asked if I involved people in the decision-making process in opening the warehouse on Saturdays.

Mic drop, wait, what?!

Should people be involved in a decision I make as a leader?

He instantly realized I didn't do that. He said we needed to start damage control.

In the weeks after the memorable incident, I had about 150 one on one conversations with people who were angry at me. The head of HR sat next to me when I individually apologized for my immature leadership.

The conversations were mindblowing learning. It became more evident what it means to involve people and listen to them.

• One mom had children to take care of.

• A guy had his tennis classes.

• Another lady had her girlfriend's day.

• An older man took care of his grandchildren on Saturday.

All those people, all those stories. Although the reason for the meetings was dark, most people left with a laugh. Some shook hands with me. They were grateful that "the boss" listened to them and included them personally in the change.

Out of the 150 angry people, only 12 really couldn't work on Saturdays. They got an exemption. The rest agreed to 2 Saturdays per month. Enough to make it a success. In fact, many people enjoyed having a day off during the week!

If only I had involved people from the start.

Those Saturdays became a nice day to work on. We organized lunch every Saturday for the whole team. The vibe was always calmer and more positive than on weekdays.

Was it because people remembered that day as they got listened to?

Ultimately, what started with much negativity ended as a positive learning experience.

The End…

This true story taught me that involving people in company decisions is crucial for success and psychological safety.

The takeaway?

As a leader, involve people in decisions. Listen to their side of the story. Show consideration. That will significantly improve collaboration and a sense of unified direction.

When you involve people, they’ll love you for it.

On the contrary, "bosses" who make tough decisions alone will set up people against themselves.

I learned that the hard way and had to pay the price. The price was a long burnout where I couldn't work for a few months.

But in the years that followed, this lesson helped me build better teams.

What leadership stories have you experienced?

I hope you liked a bit different version of Refresh. Rethink. today.
Let me know by replying to this email.

See you next week.

Leon