Why I’m Glad I Got Fired

Getting fired is one of those experiences people love to rebrand as “character development” once enough time has passed.

At the time, though, it mostly feels disorienting. You go from having momentum, structure, and a clear place in a system to suddenly having… none of that. And you’re expected to immediately turn it into a growth story.

I didn’t have that perspective right away.

When I joined a small agency early in my career, it genuinely felt like a great opportunity. The role was offered to me. The team was small and ambitious. The work was interesting. For the first few weeks, everything looked promising. I was excited. Motivated. Ready to learn.

Then the operational reality started showing up.

Very quickly, it became clear that the business was being held together with optimism and improvisation. Processes were unclear. Timelines were unstable. Financial stress was openly discussed. At one point, my manager casually mentioned that he wasn’t always sure where the next round of paycheques would come from.

Which is not information most employees benefit from knowing.

Feedback was another issue. Instead of being specific, constructive, or developmental, it was often dismissive and demeaning. The tone wasn’t “let’s help you improve.” It was “let’s remind you who’s in charge.” Over time, that creates an environment where people become cautious instead of confident, reactive instead of thoughtful.

As the instability became more obvious, I shifted my focus to the only thing that felt solid: the clients.

I had worked with clients before. I understood how important trust, follow-through, and clear communication were. So I put my energy into delivering what had been promised and keeping projects moving, even when internal direction was inconsistent.

That meant asking fewer questions and taking more responsibility.

Which, in a healthy organization, is usually encouraged.

In this one, it wasn’t.

Behind the scenes, I was also noticing patterns that made me uncomfortable. Timelines were misrepresented. Progress was overstated. Clients were sometimes given versions of reality that didn’t fully match what was happening internally. I never had full visibility into the financial motivations behind it, but the result was the same: pressure to maintain appearances instead of address root problems.

I wasn’t interested in participating in that.

So I stayed focused on the work. I prioritized outcomes. I protected client relationships. I tried to operate with integrity inside a system that didn’t always reward it.

Over time, that created tension.

My independence was interpreted as defiance. My experience was treated as overconfidence. My focus on delivery was seen as bypassing authority. I wasn’t constantly seeking approval, and in an environment built on hierarchy rather than trust, that didn’t land well.

After four months, I was let go.

Not because of performance issues.
Not because of client dissatisfaction.
But because I didn’t fit the leadership style.

At the time, that was hard to accept.

It felt unfair. It felt abrupt. It felt like being penalized for being capable.

With distance, though, I can see it clearly.

I was operating like a future leader inside a system that required compliance.

Getting fired forced me to examine how organizations really function beneath the surface. It showed me how quickly misalignment between leadership values and employee values turns into friction. It showed me how damaging financial instability and unclear processes are to morale. It showed me how often insecurity disguises itself as “high standards.”

Most importantly,
it taught me what kind of leader I never want to be.

• I never want to create an environment where people feel small to feel controlled.

• I never want to rely on ambiguity to maintain authority.

• I never want to prioritize appearances over outcomes.

• I never want to confuse hierarchy with leadership.

That experience became a blueprint for what not to replicate.

It also shaped how I think about systems.

Strong organizations are not built on personality. They are built on structure, transparency, and trust. They make expectations visible. They make feedback useful. They make success repeatable. They don’t depend on one person holding everything together through sheer force of will.

Without those foundations, even talented teams struggle.

Today, when I work with founders and executives, I recognize those early warning signs immediately. I see when operations are being patched instead of designed. I see when leaders are over-centralizing control. I see when culture is being used as branding rather than practice.

And I know how expensive that becomes over time.

Getting fired didn’t derail my career.

It clarified it.

It pushed me toward building systems that support people instead of destabilizing them. It reinforced my commitment to integrity, transparency, and structure. It gave me the perspective to help leaders avoid mistakes that quietly erode their organizations from the inside.

I wouldn’t choose to relive that experience.

But I would choose what it taught me.

Because sometimes being removed from the wrong environment is the fastest way to become the leader you were meant to be.