Why walk when you can fly

As a career development lead one of the most frequently asked questions I receive, is, 'when do you think is the best time to leave your current role?'

It is a difficult one as once someone is thinking of leaving there are so many events that have probably already taken place that has led them to feeling that they would like to pursue roles, elsewhere. And, of course these will all be unique to the individual at the time.

However, there are some tell tale signs that are consistent across many organisations and once these start to occur, or be observed, then it is probably a good time to consider your options as you want to be the one in control of your own future, rather than leaving your fate to be decided by others, who really don't have your best interests at heart.

In my extensive career there are some things that really don't change and I have had seen many situations that still shock me when it comes to someone leaving a business.

Take for example those times when a number of people have been dismissed or made redundant en-masse. At the time it will be presented as a tough decision, but a necessary one to somehow protect the business

Both of these are falsehoods, let me explain why.

If a business finds itself in a situation where it has to lay off a number of people it is usually because other functions have failed. Marketing campaigns have faltered; Sales have not materialised; Orders have not been placed; Invoicing has been delayed; Payment has not been received, and many other steps within the pipeline that have stalled.

This is where the tough decisions need where needed to have been made, not with the mass lay off of staff. Once a business finds itself in this position then it has already become disfunctional in it's operating process, but it is the people who pay the price.

You may also hear these tough decisions accompanied by a phrase, along the lines of, 'we need to take these tough decisions to protect the business'.

This is another grossly misleading statement.

Trust me, anyone who tries to convince you with this, is protecting themselves and their livelihood and the true impact of it is secondary. Let's face it, if they really cared about the business they would have stepped up sooner to prevent this wave of terminations and saved roles rather than discarding them.

Whenever either of the events above start to happen, it is definitely a good time to start considering your own position.

Another good time to start looking at your development elsewhere is when the compensation scheme becomes questionable. Many organisations take a less than transparent approach with end of year reviews or salary increases but when it starts to affect your progression it should be a cause for concern.

When rewards are minimised for the wider workforce, but increases are implemented at senior management level, this is a true reflection of the value placed on your role.

This is yet another time where I would start to consider how my professional development would be supported as financial compensation is important to everyone.

Another tell tale sign where this becomes an issue is when selective promotions start to take place. Having the individual power over progression allows the timing, authorising and selective control of who receives any reward and it is often abused and encourages favouratism.

If you are not one the fortunate ones to be selected as part of the process, you can evaluate your own worth to your business and decide for yourself if the timing is right to look outside for a new opportunity.

The final observation I would make, is one that is constantly highlighted by Linked-in, and it is the impact of your role on your health.

We all know that it is unacceptable for any employer to create and uphold an environment where it starts to affect your health, but again there are many institutions who pay little regard to this and operate without impunity where their people are concerned.

Disregard and disrespect of values, beliefs, faiths, gender, ethnicity, age and sexual orientation are, unfortunately still commonplace in so many industries.

Anywhere, and any organisation that leaves an employee feeling unsafe, is probably going to have an effect on their health and wellbeing. No-one should have to feel this way and employers should do everything they can to remove any experience of this for individuals.

Easy to say, but difficult to implement when there are people within an organisation who rule through fear and controlling behaviour.

If you have the misfortune to be a victim of this then your environment is unsafe and you should probably leave.

These are just some personal experiences that I have encountered and thankfully they have been few in number in a considerable career.

I hope this article helps you with your own personal circumstances and hopefully enables you to spot some of the warning signs that may signpost you to the exit door, before someone ushers you through it!

Good Luck if you do decide to look for a new role as result of this.