My Gen X Playlist: A Symptom of Being Human – Shinedown

One of the worst experiences I ever had was having to let someone go. She was almost sixty years old, had been with the company for 20 years and just bought a new house. I’d spent countless hours providing personal training to get her up to speed but she was lacking the right skills to be in her current role. I had been with the company for only a few months and was asked to set up a meeting with HR, legal, my leadership and her.

She was a little freaked out when she entered the room and saw the attendees. I felt terrible for her. She was put on a performance action plan with metrics that needed to be met within six months. She went home immediately after the meeting that day. I can’t imagine what was going on in her head.

The next day we met in my office and she and I had a heart to heart. She confided that achieving the metrics was near impossible even with my extra tutoring and training. She lacked the critical thinking skills needed. I suggested we shift our focus. Our new goal was to find a more suitable position within the organization before the six months were up. Screw the training if it was a waste of time. No use banging a square peg into a round hole. That’s just torture. She agreed and I came up with a plan.

I asked her to scour the internal job opportunities first thing every morning for an hour. After that, she needed to focus on chugging out client work. In addition to that, the first few weeks we worked on fine tuning her resume. This was followed by the next few months of role playing interview questions. Think about the amount of rust accumulated if you haven’t interviewed in 20 years. We needed to polish things up.

I was on a business trip when she called to let me know she received a job offer. I was elated. The only problem was she was going to turn it down. The role wasn’t for her. I reminded her the clock was ticking and the alternative may be dismissal. She apologized and felt she was letting me down. No, we just needed to continue on,

Six months turned to eight, a few months past our time frame. I advised her to keep searching. If leadership wasn’t going to bring it up, neither was I. Ultimately time ran out.

Fortunately, leadership decided to take a different path. In addition to her pension, they offered her an early retirement package with severance and extended healthcare coverage instead. After all, she did have over 20 years with the company. It was the right thing to do. I’m glad they came to their senses. We both let out a sigh of relief.

I was a manager back then. I was still a work in progress and I’ll never forget the leadership lesson learned. Decisions impact people’s lives and it’s important to always keep in mind the human side of the equation. Some decisions look good on paper or make logical sense, but may have severe life consequences. Thankfully I haven’t had to step into this scenario again since then. Nevertheless, this difficult experience has stayed with me for 20 years.

Shinedown’s A Symptom of Being Human was released in 2022. It’s not a Gen X song, but that’s OK. It’s a good reminder we are all human.

“The song is about essentially being human and that there are all kinds of symptoms to be human,” he told ABC Audio

“What I’ve gotten from people is that the song is almost like a reset button for them,” he adds. “Like, when they’re having an anxiety attack, they’ll listen to it.”

“I know that it can be nerve-racking to ask for help. I know that it can be nerve-racking to sometimes just ask everybody to stop for a minute and let you talk because you’re having a tough time,” he notes.

“But at the end of the day, you got to remember something, too … we’re all a work in progress.”

– ks95

Everything feels like a work in progress. Life, love, family, career. Work in progress translates to continuous growth. I think if you maintain this view through your lens, everything tends to work it’s way out like it’s suppose to in the end.

–

For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

I can still remember me and Miss November rain
Beautiful and strange
Always so inclined, coloring outside the lines
Yeah, you were never on time

You've always been slightly awkward, kinda weird
Upside down and not all here
What's wrong with me and you is crystal clear

Sometimes I'm in a room where I don't belong
And the house is on fire and there's no alarm
And the walls are melting too
How about you?
I've never been the favorite, thought I'd seen it all
'Til I got my invitation to the lunatic ball
And my friends are comin' too
How about you?
Don't worry, it's all just a symptom of being human

Unpack all your baggage
Hide it in the attic, where
You hope it disappears
This all seems so familiar
But it doesn't feel like home
It's just another unknown

You've always been slightly awkward, kinda weird
Upside down and not all here
Right or wrong, it's all so crystal clear

Sometimes I'm in a room where I don't belong
And the house is on fire and there's no alarm
And the walls are melting too
How about you?
I've never been the favorite, thought I'd seen it all
'Til I got my invitation to the lunatic ball
And my friends are comin' too
How about you?
Don't worry, it's all just a symptom of being human

We're all just passing through
Passengers on a ship of fools
We're all just passing through
Passengers on a ship of fools

Sometimes I'm in a room where I don't belong
And the house is on fire and there's no alarm
And the walls are melting too
How about you?
I've never been the favorite, thought I'd seen it all
'Til I got my invitation to the lunatic ball
And my friends are comin' too
On a ship of fools
Don't worry, it's all just a symptom of being human