Reflections on a Career - 2

While I am sure that there were probably more than three, there are three people I remember who worked for me and who stole from the company I worked for. I only remember the name of one, only the face of one, only the voice of one - that was the one that really hurt; I almost cried when I told my boss about it. The other two? They were just passing by, they came, they stole, they were caught, and they went.

One of them worked for me just a few weeks when I discovered irregularities in the funds she was handling. When the police were called I discovered that they already knew her - she had done the same thing at other firms but no firm would tell another what happened when asked for a reference.

The other one was a maintenance technician who decided on a Sunday morning to fill his van with new air conditioning units belonging to the apartment community where he worked. When a leasing agent saw him loading the units into his van she called the police and then called me. The idiot, or thief, or whatever you’d care to call him, told the police that he was worried that since the lock on the storage building where the units were stored was so flimsy that someone might break in and steal them; so he was going to take them home for safekeeping. I didn’t believe him, the police didn’t believe him, and strangely enough the Baltimore City judge didn’t believe him.

Ah, but the third one, when she stole money...that hurt, I’ll call her Susan. When I first met Susan she was a leasing agent at an apartment community that I’d assumed management of; she had been in her position three years before I arrived. After I’d had the property for a few months, during one of my visits the property manager told me that Susan would like to talk to me, so I invited Susan into the manager’s office to hear what she had to say. She told me that she’d really like to advance in her career, to be promoted, to become a property manager. We talked about what that would entail and I told her that I’d see what we could do.

I was impressed with the way Susan presented herself, with her outgoing positive attitude, and with her desire for advancement. We opened the door for Susan to take some educational courses and exposed her to higher-level aspects of the business. A few months later an opening came up for a property manager, the property looked like a good fit for Susan, a place that would challenge her to grow without overwhelming her. We offered her the position and she accepted it.

Susan did quite well in the new position. I was pleased and I was proud of her. I enjoyed watching her progress. I enjoyed visiting her property and training her, mentoring her. I had high hopes for Susan, very high hopes. One day I noticed that Susan had a new car, not just any new car, but a pretty expensive car. I usually don’t think much about these things, but knowing that Susan had children and a husband who wasn’t financially dependable, I did wonder about such an expensive car - but then didn’t give it much further thought. I knew that Susan was making more money that she had ever made before, a lot more money; I just hoped that she was being wise with it.

Susan’s property performed very well, the numbers were good; then a larger property opened up, a property that represented a major career move and that included a significant salary increase. I didn’t hesitate to offer Susan the job and she didn’t hesitate to take it.

After Susan’s transfer to her new property a review of tenant accounts at her old property indicated discrepancies. When I first saw it I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I knew what my eyes were looking at but my heart and mind couldn’t believe it. I asked my right-hand senior manager to please come to my office and review the accounts. She confirmed what I knew to be true but what I couldn’t believe. I was in denial - at least emotionally. I had given Susan everything I knew to give to open doors for her, I had spent time with her, I had encouraged her - as had others. Why was she doing this? Why was she doing this to her family?

When I went to my boss to tell him I was almost in tears, I didn’t cry but I easily could have. A day or two later my senior manager and I confronted Susan, she quickly admitted stealing and we terminated her. I later found out that she was involved in the “party scene” and had no doubt spent much of her stolen money on late nights, the expensive car, and other toys.

As I have said more than once to my managers, just because someone takes advantage of me doesn’t mean that I’m going to stop caring about people and giving to them - yes, there is pain when we give and care when people are ungrateful and take advantage of us, but if we can only touch a few lives that will learn and grow then it is worth it, we can hope that they in turn will touch others. Some “get it” and others don’t; some may not “get it” now but they may get it later.

I hope Susan has been changed by the grace of God, I hope that she is growing into a woman of integrity and character.