The Confessions

"I turned down a junior colleague who asked me to mentor them. I told them I was too busy. The truth is I found them irritating. They have since gone on to outperform everyone in the department including me. I think about that refusal often."

"I reported a colleague for something I knew was an exaggeration because I felt threatened by how quickly they were progressing. They were put on a performance plan. They eventually left. I got the promotion. I have not had a peaceful night since."

"My biggest professional achievement, the one on my profile and in every interview, was seventy percent the work of a colleague who left before the project completed. I have never corrected this. The achievement is real but the credit belongs to someone else."

"I took credit for a piece of work my junior colleague produced almost entirely on her own. My manager praised me in front of the whole team. She was in the room. I said nothing to correct it. She left the company three months later and I have always wondered if that moment contributed."

"I interviewed someone for a position I knew had already been filled internally. HR required us to go through a process. I sat across from someone who had clearly prepared extensively and answered every question brilliantly. I shook their hand at the end and said we would be in touch."

"I wrote a negative anonymous review of my former employer that was not entirely fair. I was angry when I wrote it. That review is still up there and still affecting their recruitment. I have considered removing it and have not."

"I lied on my CV about a qualification I do not have. That was twelve years ago. I have since become genuinely excellent at the job. But the lie is still there at the foundation of my entire career and sometimes it feels like the whole thing could collapse."

"I have been mentally checked out of my job for two years but I am too afraid of the financial uncertainty to leave. Every day I give about forty percent of what I am capable of. My employer thinks I am performing well. I know what I could actually do if I cared."

"I told a job candidate that the company culture was excellent and the team was supportive. Neither was true. I needed to fill the role urgently. They lasted four months. I knew within weeks they were miserable. I said nothing and let them work it out themselves."

"I once made a significant error that cost my company a major contract. I managed to shift the narrative so that the blame landed on my team rather than on me. They never found out. I received a formal apology from my manager on their behalf. I said thank you."