The KJRs: Take Care of You

By John R. Nocero & Katherine J. Pryor

?Have you ever been in the situation where the company or the industry you are working in is not performing? Have you thought it was time for a higher salary but started questioning, "Why should I get paid more?" To which you know the answer, you have worked your butt off, year after year, for an organization that has not keep its promises to you. However, you decided to stay. Disappointment after disappointment, you held on. You were that employee who slaved long hours to save the company from negative sales, a sagging reputation, and a reduction in the bottom line. You may have succeeded in your department, but you have not reversed the overall downward spiral or found the company culture changed for the better though you kept hoping it would. The spiral is coming faster and you're being swept in with no anchor. 

I had this conversation with someone last week. She is frustrated in her role but is focused on how things used to be – the history of the leadership, culture, and mission – rather than what she could be doing right now - outside the confines of her current company. She is stuck in the past, she can't or won't get out of her own way. Now, I get that she is not simply grateful for her job, she is dedicated to the vision and wants to move it forward while also moving her career forward. I applaud her for wanting to do more to right the ship. I just want her to stop focusing how things used to be. She still wonders why a lot of her old colleagues left. Maybe they were promised something and never got it. So why would they stay? Things have changed meaning the way she views the company and solutions that she develops also need to evolve; if this is not possible, she needs to consider other options - for herself. Perhaps leaving is her best option. It is time for the loyal and productive to stop relying on their organization to care for them, especially if you were promised something and did not get it or if the target and definition of success change arbitrarily and without warning. Dr. Maya Angelou said, "When people show you who they are, believe them." It is the same with companies. Once an organization shows its true colors, believe it and ask yourself some hard questions about whether the fit is right. Keep an open mind and heart as it may be time for a change. 

It could be time to pivot.

Does your current career strategy need a pivot plan? Is it your turn to find a new gig, negotiate stronger boundaries or make a clear delineation of what you will return to your employer?

I first heard the term “pivot plan” a month or so ago. It was new. I had never heard it before. I always used the term "performance improvement plan" or PIP to get better at work. I love pivot though, it means to turn. In this article, Jody Greenstone Miller discusses five strategies for career pivoting. https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/five-strategies-making-career-pivot

Find your driving force. Understand your gaps. Return to basics. Be brave. 

You need to take care if you.

#wepickedus

#J&K