Should I Stay or Should I Go?
We’ve all faced the same question
during the course of our careers, sometimes more than once: Should I stay or
should I go? But after asking ourselves this question, too many of us end up
making nonsensical decisions. Last week, I had a conversation with an executive
who was seriously considering a lateral move to a small, family-owned company.
When I asked him why, his only justification was that he’s fed up with his
company’s toxic environment.
But running away is not a
strategy that builds careers. When making job decisions, the best approach to leaving is actually doing
everything you can to stay. Don’t throw away years of hard work and goodwill
before you invest time clarifying your goals, getting out of your own way, and
discovering your worth.
Running
away is not a strategy that builds careers.
Clarify
your goals.
Identify where you ideally want to be in five years or so by identifying your values and goals, and mapping out how to
get from where you are to where you want to be. Make an educated guess—one that
makes you smile and your heart skip a beat—and use it as a touchstone for
deciding your next move. Pondering the future makes many good brains shut down.
Intimidated by the task of mapping the future, many executives end up
articulating some generic pabulum about what they want: “A senior leadership
position responsible for driving change in a collaborative, innovative environment,”
or some such thing. Don’t settle and don’t get stuck. Instead, have a glass of
wine and do a bit of dreaming, or talk to someone who knows what makes you tick
and how to get you to think.
Get
out of your own way.
Determine how you are acting as co-conspirator in your
own frustrations by considering the major reasons why people quit their
jobs:
• Disliking
their boss and feeling disempowered: Chances are, if you don’t like your
boss, he doesn’t like you either. Accept that you are half of the problem and
start treating him like a difficult, but important, customer, linking
everything you say and do to his goals, bonus, concerns, and fears. If you lack
empowerment, you are probably sweating the small stuff, and asking for
permission rather than forgiveness. Everyone hates being micromanaged but, as
long as it doesn’t impact your overall effectiveness, let it go. Resist the
natural temptation to avoid your boss—instead, keep in close communication,
focusing on the “what,” listening to your boss’s “how,” and then delivering the
“what” using whatever “how” you think is best. Deliver results. Give your boss
the credit. Rinse and repeat.
• Resenting the politics: People use the word “politics” when they are on the
losing side of the influence game. But as much as it may feel that navigating
your organization is akin to being in the “Hunger Games,” you can improve your positioning with a few simple measures: identifying your
key stakeholders; treating them like difficult, but important, customers by
understanding what makes them tick; making sure they see their reflection in
your plans; and giving before you expect to receive.
• Feeling
unappreciated: Research indicates that people who love what
they do pick great colleagues and shape their jobs into ones they want to keep.
Given that there are an infinite variety of leadership challenges surrounding
you, look around your company and figure out who you want to work for and how
you can help them.
Discover
your worth.
Now that you have done all you can do—by defining your goals, being a model
employee, and identifying meaningful opportunities within your company—it’s
time to discover your worth by engaging your boss (or sponsor) in a career
conversation that goes something like this:
You:
“In five years, I would like to have the skills and experience to do [insert
your “best guess” five-year career goal]. In order to attain this goal, I am
thinking that I need to learn how to do [insert necessary skills] and develop a
track record of [insert necessary experience]. What do you think?”
[At
this point, boss hopefully responds with interest and wisdom.]
You:
“As I look at our company, I think my next move, in six to 12 months, would be
to become [insert jobs you want in the company]. What do you think?”
This
is the critical point where you discover your worth to the company. If your
boss responds by affirming your ideas or offering up his own, you will know you
are valued. Move to close the “deal” by asking for specifics in terms of next
steps and time frames. If he gives you a blank face or equivocates, thank him
for sharing his insights and mumble something about continuing the conversation
at a later date. You now know that the only person thinking about your future
is you. You have tried everything possible to stay, and now you know it’s time
to leave.
With
46 percent of new hires failing
within 18 months,
it’s a good idea to leave your company by first trying to stay. Relationships,
reputation, and cultural fit don’t transfer. If you are successful in
negotiating a new opportunity with your old company, you will advance your
career at lower risk. And if not, then you can leave with confidence, knowing
that you are running to a brighter future rather than simply running away from
a frustrating past.
http://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Should-I-Stay-Or-Should-I-Go?gko=d0461
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