Someone is on Your Side, No One is Alone
For years, I have given individuals and organizations “the benefit of doubt.” This is who I am; I have an overtly optimistic look on life and people. It is hard for me to ascribe malicious intent to others, when I could not fathom taking such actions myself. Although I am able to identify challenges down the road in terms of work and come up with plans to trouble-shoot and problem solve, I cannot always do this with people.
This essence makes me who I am and is one of the reasons that I was initially drawn to the Fraternity as a whole. The Masonic messages, the degree instructions, the duties, and the obligations all struck a chord of truth with me. To believe that people took these oaths and acted with malicious intent seems unfeasible to me. I have often viewed organized religion with this same astonishment. Am I naïve? No, I just honestly believe that people mean well and try to be kind and decent individuals. The majority of Masons are amazing men, honorable and trustworthy. I knew there were some men who used Freemasonry for financial gain and power, but I never worked for one before.
I was unprepared when the CEO called me into his office, explaining that I would be let go after the opening of the building because I simply didn’t have the “skill-set” for the job as Curatorial Director. He stated that I was primarily a theatre practitioner and not a Masonic scholar, librarian, or museum expert; I just had been “learning on the job” since I started in August 2014. At the time he was explaining this to me, I gave the CEO the benefit of the doubt – maybe he really didn’t understand what I had accomplished over the past 18 months, let alone the past 28 years.
I took a deep breath to steady a surge of anger. “Well, that’s really unfortunate,” I said. Then I looked him in the eye and calmly began explaining my past experiences with museum exhibits, library archives, and my publications as a Masonic Scholar.
“But your resume only lists theatre restoration and art!” he insisted.
“Well,” I responded, “In July 2014, I reduced my curriculum vitae to solely support my role as historical consultant for the MMHC theatre space and future scenery collection.”
An the end of our conversation, he explained that he MIGHT be convinced to keep me on IF I could prove my history in working with museum, archives, and Masonic scholarship. I would think that my work over the past eighteen months had demonstrated my capabilities and my contributions to this entire endeavor. Regardless, he went on, there were some stipulations if he were to allow me to stay: I would no longer have the title of Curatorial Director, I would take a 25% pay cut, my new boss would be the general director, and I would greatly have to increase my workload.
The CEO had intended to hire a whole crew of interns, but if they kept me on, I would have to complete the majority of their anticipated workload myself. Furthermore, I would also have to rewrite my new job description, showing a flowchart and where I was placed below the general director. Then, I smiled at him from across his desk and requested a little time to come up with the paperwork. After all, I was in the final stages of completing the mural for the lodge room, finalizing the details for the start of the restoration project, and getting ready to leave on my trip to Europe.
“You can’t take longer than a week though,” he warned, “as I am in the process of hiring people for your job.” So, holding my head high, I walked back to my office and painted on the mural a bit to brighten my mood. I was heartbroken. The CEO was willfully ignoring all of my accomplishments to date. All of my hard work to be demoted and work the general director, someone who had yet to prove he could follow basic instructions and complete any task without an assistant. In hindsight, I realize that the CEO completely understood what he was doing and this was simply another attempt to break my spirit and have me work for even less money.
Fortunately for me, Jean Montgomery was still processing the library, so I sought her counsel. She had known me since the beginning of my academic career in 1987 when I first started at the University of Minnesota theatre department. She later was the editor for my doctoral dissertation, “Scenic Shifts upon the Scottish Rite Stage: Designing for Masonic Theatre, 1859-1929.” Now she was a friend. Jean was the best person to guide me through this entire process as she had worked extensively with contract negotiations at the university and elsewhere.
First of all, she explained, he has asked you to redefine your job description. Don’t do that! You could start with simply submitting your CV as part of your annual review, allowing him the opportunity to read it before beforehand. After all, your contract stipulates that your position will be reviewed annually, right? And he’s your supervisor? I nodded. At that point, I started updating my 37-page curriculum vitae, thankful to have Jean on my side.
It was quite therapeutic to look back at the age of 46 on my academic training, professional decisions, and the choices I had made up to that point in your life as I updated my CV. I would repeat the entire journey again in a heartbeat – even my participation in the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center.
To be continued…
