\n 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\u2019ve 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\u2019m noodling on many (ok, all) of them. For today\u2019s purposes though, I\u2019ll focus on \u201cWhen to go or when to stay, how to know if another company would be a better fit for you.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n As some of you know, I\u2019ve 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\u2019ve been participating in these kinds of decisions quite a bit of late, and to quote another very dear friend, \u201cI have thoughts.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thought #1: I\u2019m Not Scared, You\u2019re Scared! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \n 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\u2019t need me.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n WHICH IS WHAT I\u2019M 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 \u2013 full stop. So much so, in fact, that they don\u2019t NEED me to take care of their responsibilities, customers, colleagues and the company. I\u2019m 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.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n And yet! Even though I was going to work with some of my former colleagues (some of the best I\u2019ve worked with), even though I had been asked to join the new team by one of the best leaders I\u2019ve 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\u2026\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n leaving friends of 20+ years.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n leaving colleagues of 20 +years.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n leaving my<\/em><\/strong> team.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n leaving an industry I felt was (and is) essential to company growth and success.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n leaving my comfort zone.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hello Discomfort Zone, My Old Friend <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \n 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\u2019re hearing \u201cI Can See Clearly Now\u201d by Johnny Nash in your head, I\u2019ll consider this mission accomplished).\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n With my most recent shift, the decision process was far quicker, easier, and obvious. It\u2019s 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.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, lessons learned: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \n Do I have more thoughts? Yes. Will I write more on them? Yes. Soon? Maybe. Staty tuned, and send me your thoughts!\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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. 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