iS THIS THE RIGHT ROLE FOR ME?
Wherever you find yourself along your career trajectory, making the decision to leave one role to go to another can be tricky. How can you be sure you’re making the right decision? Are you clear on what you want to achieve next? Will the opportunity to reach your full potential be there?
Two years into her current role, my client had come to the realization that while her job was meeting her needs, it wasn’t, (and likely would never be) a role where she could thrive. She recently became aware of an opportunity that sparked her interest enough to pursue it and when she contacted me, was in the process of negotiating an offer.
She was looking for some guidance to help answer the question: Is this the right role for me?
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
Our conversation started with her sharing what was missing in her current role. Her workdays were starting to feel a bit like rinse and repeat, and the sense of excitement she felt when she joined the company had now been replaced with feeling, well comfortable. Not an ideal growing environment. There were other signs as well, cultural things that left her wondering if she really belonged. Leadership seemed unaware of what was important to their folks, and as a result, the employee experience they were creating was lacking some of the key ingredients my client was looking for.
While contemplating a new start is exciting, she was proceeding with caution. While her current role was falling short on values alignment and opportunity, if she was going to make a move, she needed some assurance these important elements of her employee experience would be met with a new employer.
In a prior role, she had been in a work environment where she was able to BUILD – ideas, projects, processes, even culture, and in doing so, she not only grew her capabilities she stretched them.
And that’s the experience she wanted to replicate.
Once I understood what was missing from her current role, we focused on the offer. It was solid, but there was something missing she couldn’t quite put her finger on. The reporting structure and job title changed during the course of the recruiting process – a process that felt a bit bumpy and rushed. During our conversation she recognized that she needed a dedicated meeting with the person she was reporting to. She needed to understand from their perspective what the opportunity really was, and she needed to further assess fit. Could she work with this person?
She also shared that later that afternoon, she was meeting with her current boss to discuss her performance review. How much should she disclose about her realization that the company was not a long term fit for her? Was it appropriate to share that she was seriously considering an offer?
HOW DO YOU WANT TO SHOW UP?
A question I often ask my clients when they find themselves in a tricky situation like this is how do you want to show up? She didn’t hesitate. Authentically. What aligns with your values? Being honest. We talked about how best to approach it and what resonated most with her was showing up as the professional she is – distinguishing the needs of the business from her career aspirations. In a follow up email, she described their conversation as good and honest. “He pitched his reasons for me to stay but understood if I had to go.”
Her meeting the next day was equally productive, for the same reasons. She asked straightforward questions and got straightforward answers. She shared that while she was more confident about accepting the offer, there remained a small part of her that felt like she was taking a leap of faith.
In my email back to her, I took the opportunity to review the pros and cons list she had provided before our first meeting. The pros were still pros and with that second meeting the cons had been flushed out. She heard things that confirmed there was an opportunity to thrive.
I acknowledged her willingness to show up authentically - not an easy thing to do when you’re focused on making a good impression. The icing on the offer cake for me was that this new role was at the level of her potential, not her current capabilities.
Negotiating offers is highly time sensitive. And quite frankly, it can also be nerve-racking because there is a lot at play. Even when you’ve got solid reasons for moving on there can still be an element of doubt that creeps in when it comes time to accept or decline. Am I making the right decision? Will I find the things I’m looking for? Will the move enhance my career trajectory, or take me off course?
That’s where a second set of eyes and ears can be valuable. In the case of my client, she reached out because she couldn’t sleep the night before. She wasn’t sure she was making the right move and recognized she needed assistance in exploring it further, and differently. “Your questions and insights during our conversation were bang-on and what I needed to talk through and get clear in my head.”
Back to that time sensitive part? She emailed me in the morning, we met a couple of hours later. She had her performance review meeting that afternoon, the meeting with her new boss the next morning and she reached out to me for any final thoughts a couple of hours later. In a little more than 24 hours she came to her decision, staying true to her values - confidently, authentically and professionally.
SHE ACCEPTED THE OFFER.
My client is a good example of someone who benefitted from a personalized solution.
At Up Front Coach, personalized strategies for careers and lives lived fully is our speciality! The best way for you to see if that is something that works for you is to reach out. Let’s start with a conversation and see where that takes us.