Safety Net

I used to feel sort of like an outsider at work. I used to worry that maybe other workers here might not like me. I used to feel just different.

The chief compliance officer. The main person to keep up with laws and regulations. The person who updates our plans and policies to stay out of trouble. The person who warns even the big bosses when they’re too close to breaking rules.

I felt that it was up to me to keep us all honest, within rules, aware of changes – large and small.

It felt sometimes as if I carried a heavy weight on my back. Or as if I was responsible for keeping all of us within the law. Or as if my job set me apart from everyone else.

At times I only felt I could relax with my “own people” – other compliance professionals, in other companies, in charge of their departments, their staff, their teams.

That’s how I often felt. Sort of alone. Sort of an outsider. Sort of different from everyone else.

And I have to admit, being almost an outsider left me feeling alone and lonely at times. Other compliance officers, leaders, people in authority – they were the support group I counted on. We all encouraged one another if we felt alone and lonely in our jobs. If we felt unappreciated. If we felt it was a hard job to handle.

But one day. Out of the blue. The big boss came looking for me, found me, took me aside and told me what I meant to him, to our company, to all my co-workers everywhere.

He told me, “It occurred to me that I never think to tell you what you mean to this company, to me, and to everyone who works here.”

I could hear truth in his voice. Could see it in his eyes. Feel it in his sincerity.

“You,” he told me. “You are our safety net. You keep us safe, on track, honest. You remind us of our code of conduct. You are our first line of protection. You keep us within the law and our code of conduct, so we do not falter or fail.”

I could see it in his eyes. He meant it. He really, sincerely meant what he was telling me.

“Without you, what would we do?” he said. “Look, I know we have good, decent people in our company. But it can be easy sometimes to go astray. You work to protect every single person in this company. Without you how many of us might have made that one wrong move or stepped over the line?”

I felt as if I might float away – like a hot air balloon. I felt appreciated, understood, essential.

“I wanted to be sure you know how much you matter here. To all of us. Yes, sometimes we might be a little impatient when you remind us about that upcoming training. We might push back when our brilliant plans are sidelined because they clash with our company values. (And later, when we quietly think about it, we realize you have saved us a ton of embarrassment.) Without you we might lose so much. You don’t ever give up on us, any of us. You stand at the heart of this company. You are – as I see it – a truly essential person here. I know, too, that this is a feeling I share with our entire Board of Directors.”

I felt stunned. Astounded. Amazed.

He told me, “You never give up on us. You keep this company safer, stronger, better in every way. Thank you.”

Then he shook my hand. I felt almost as if it was a dream, a mirage, my imagination.

But then, just to support his message to me, the big boss handed me a list of upgrades in store for me, as a valued and essential employee. I will not tell you details of my new perks. I will not name the numbers on my bonus check. But I will tell you I celebrated by buying new and gorgeous shoes – my greatest weakness.

I felt so very appreciated – as a compliance officer and as a person. Being a compliance officer and a safety net meant the world to me.

© 2024 K. Leet

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These are stories (usually fictional, but not always), based on insights and experiences from the world of compliance & ethics.