Yes, yes, I know. I solicited feedback and suggestions on topics for discussion, and then completely ghosted. I (being the Irish American, I can say this) performed an Irish goodbye. As has been said before, and often, by me: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. But I’ve been busy! And thus, the topic for today: turning the page (I bet you have that Bob Seger song rolling through your head right now. SorryNotSorry). My good friend, @joehol.land replied to my request for topics with several suggestions, and I’m noodling on many (ok, all) of them. For today’s purposes though, I’ll focus on “When to go or when to stay, how to know if another company would be a better fit for you.”
As some of you know, I’ve recently taken on a new position, leading a team of solutions engineers (aka sales engineers, solutions consultants, the team that actually gets things done, you know) in a SaaS company. I joined my new team having written a (very short) chapter with another organization, an organization I joined after 20 years in the customer experience space. So, I’ve been participating in these kinds of decisions quite a bit of late, and to quote another very dear friend, “I have thoughts.”
Thought #1: I’m Not Scared, You’re Scared!
For me, the prospect of make a significant leap away from a team, company and industry I had spent 20 years with was daunting. I had entertained one or two exploratory offers over the course of that phase of my career, but these never presented anything close to something I considered viable, let alone worth the risk. The change came when I realized I had done some of my very best work, collaborated with a tremendous team, and helped them get to a place where they really didn’t need me.
WHICH IS WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO DO! As a leader, I want to make sure that anyone on my team has the skills, acumen, resources and support they need – full stop. So much so, in fact, that they don’t NEED me to take care of their responsibilities, customers, colleagues and the company. I’m striving to become redundant in my current role, so that I can take a leap into the next best role for my team, company, career, and family. As many (OK, all) of you know, I am slower than the average bear, and while it took me longer than it should have, I think I reached the right conclusion before I had hung around too long and started to negatively impact the team.
And yet! Even though I was going to work with some of my former colleagues (some of the best I’ve worked with), even though I had been asked to join the new team by one of the best leaders I’ve been associated with, even though the technology seemed super interesting, the prospect of making such a significant change caused a fair degree of puckering. I mean, this meant I was…
leaving friends of 20+ years.
leaving colleagues of 20 +years.
leaving my team.
leaving an industry I felt was (and is) essential to company growth and success.
leaving my comfort zone.
Hello Discomfort Zone, My Old Friend
Once I realized that last hang-up was a thing, the decision process became much clearer. Moving out of the comfort zone and into the discomfort zone was like hitting the gym after a long (looooooong, in my case) break: the initial and often significant discomfort yields (sometimes slowly) great benefit, in terms clarity of focus, clarity of priority, and clarity of intent (if you’re hearing “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash in your head, I’ll consider this mission accomplished).
With my most recent shift, the decision process was far quicker, easier, and obvious. It’s the right team, with the right senior leadership, mission, and opportunity. Running through the decision tree was simpler, and identifying the elements that made up this particular discomfort zone became an identification of challenges and opportunities I really wanted to jump into.
So, lessons learned:
- Don’t be afraid to explore a new opportunity
- Don’t let fear or discomfort be a permanent roadblock prevent consideration
- Examine your priorities in the context of both your current and potential future situation
- Take a breath, review the options, identify the pros and cons, ask clarifying questions (of yourself and of the team your considering joining), and make a call.
- It’ll be ok, if not now, then soon. But it’ll be ok.
Do I have more thoughts? Yes. Will I write more on them? Yes. Soon? Maybe. Staty tuned, and send me your thoughts!