‘I Am Honored to Tender My Resignation’

Sometimes you just know when a working relationship isn’t going well overall for the mission or for you as a professional. The law of diminishing returns is in effect. While we can rationalize and make excuses to stay involved with our responsibilities, we know eventually, maybe even soon, the job and relationship is unlikely to work out successfully.

When the point of no return comes into view and becomes a decision, the sense of relief from having made the smart move is significant.

“I am honored to tender my resignation,” said Naysa Woomer, the now former communications director for GOP Rep. George Santos, in a strong and pointed professional breakup.

Wow. Boom!

Think how much that has to sting a boss when someone writes that they are “honored” to resign and they follow it up by communicating in frustration or anger, “you never took one point of professional advice given.”

Painful, I suspect.

Regrettably, Santos and people like him behavior-wise are unlikely to do honest introspection in such a moment. They are instead likely to consider feel and conclude that they are the victim of loss and possibly, betrayal.

It’s plausible that Woomer maybe didn’t foresee her email becoming public yet it’s also possible that she did anticipate the media would discover it and publish her resignation. If that did end up happening, she wanted the phrasing of disgust for her boss to be associated with her name more so than being connected to his behavior to distance herself from Santos’ immoral and alleged criminal behavior.

She has a professional and personal reputation and future to consider.

Woomer’s resignation, via email, was obtained by Scripps News and reported on by Kathryn Wilson, with some assistance from Caitlin Yilek, at CBS News.

The final straw for Woomer may have been when Santos was arrested and charged with fraud, money laundering and additional crimes.

“Santos pleaded not guilty to 13 federal charges in New York, and was released on a $500,000 bond,” Watson reported.

Was Woomer’s wording in her resignation necessary and smart? That can of course be argued in any way people choose. What she wrote will be left to interpretation with future employers or clients, as will her work relationship with Santos.

As for him, it’s no surprise that Woomer signed off with Santos as she did in her resignation. Regrettably, Santos is another example of a person in authority choosing a lack of self control and ethics and turning away from humility and the wisdom listen to and heed sound counsel.

Will other leaders, as observers of this story, learn from Santos’ failure to trust an advisor? Learning from the mistakes — or egregious errors — of others seems like the smarter play than having to learn on our own.

Now, in large part because of those thinking errors and disastrous communication, he will suffer for what could have been largely prevented.

Michael Toebe is the founder and publisher at Communication Intelligence. He has written for newspapers, magazines and newsletters and also is a reputation specialist at Reputation Quality.

Publisher’s note: Sponsorship (a company mention in every column preview and an ad in every column) is available, as is regular advertising in the column section of Communication Intelligence. You are welcome to contact the magazine directly (see the button in the upper right-hand section of the magazine) to ask questions and learn more. C.I. will be happy to help you achieve your goals.