So here's the deal. This past week, I laid out a plan for some changes I wanted to make where I'm consulting. The employees weren't happy about most of them; as a matter of fact, they were downright hostile. I never expected it, based on how we'd been getting along before then, and I couldn't understand how I'd misread it. I'd even shared it with the person who was directly under me, and she thought it would be a good idea.

During the meeting, however, she really didn't support me, and I found that troubling. After the meeting, once this person went to lunch, one of the employees who supported me said that the employees knew this plan was coming beforehand, though I had only told one person. Then she mentioned something else to me that I hadn't realized she knew, and asked me once again to think about who I had mentioned it to. Both times, the only person I mentioned it to was this direct person under me.

Man, I felt betrayed; if there's one major thing with me, it's trust. It's not loyalty, because one earns that, but if one betrays my trust,... Well, I was upset for the rest of the day, though I didn't stay long, and on the way home I decided to call the administrator who I report to and told him the story. He's been thinking about firing her, for some of the same reasons, and I'd been supporting her because I hadn't seen any of this type of behavior, but at this juncture, I felt like there was no way I could work with her anymore. I'm betting she's been going behind me and saying all sorts of things to these people, and if you can't trust your top supervisor, then that person has just got to go. And, upon reflection, there were many other things I wasn't happy about.

But I'm curious how the rest of you might view this sort of thing, from a non-management perspective. Obviously I'm not in a position to fire anyone, since I'm not an employee, but giving a negative report that gets someone fired isn't usually up my alley either. Should there be second chances for an open violation of trust?