No Regrets: One Year Later

The last year has flown by.... One year ago today was my last day at Starbucks where I worked for over 27 years. I had accepted a role as Chief Strategy Officer at Kinetic Sports Rehab, a growing health and wellness company. The article I published in August, 2017 shares the story of how and why I decided to make the move from a seemingly secure corporate staff job in a well established global organization to a small, unknown company with three locations in Seattle. It was a very intentional move with a lot of thought put into it but, the bottom line was, I wanted to better leverage my strengths in an industry I'm personally passionate about.

I was definitely scared to make a change as Starbucks had been a significant part of my entire adult life. I literally grew up there and it was a big component of my identity, personally and professionally and the roots ran deep. My family had tracked my growth and Starbucks growth over the years and had benefited from endless gifts of coffee and proud stories about their daughter, niece, granddaughter, wife, mom and sister doing big things there. At work, I had a reputation as a culture keeper and coach, helping to ensure decisions made reflected the mission and values.

Since I've been gone, there is a high degree of curiosity from my friends, family and former colleagues as to what this transition has been like, especially by those who've contemplated making a job or career change. The worry of losing job security as well as a big unknown as to whether not they will be successful somewhere else (they will!) tend to be the primary reasons why people hold back from pursuing another job that might be a better fit for their strengths and/or their passions.

Before I made this leap, I had a conversation with myself that, no matter what the outcome ended up being, I wasn't going to fail. Worst case scenario, I would be able to find something else if for some reason this didn't work out. I had to believe in myself and my capabilities. If I didn't, who would?

Looking back over the last year, I've come to realize several things about myself that either confirmed what I already knew or illuminated a fresh perspective on how I like to work and live my life. Like all human beings, I need to feel valued and to add value at work and I need to be in place where I can let my best self shine. Personally, I love flexibility and balance so that my whole life needs can be met in a way that is important to me. People that have seen me this last year have told me that I look more relaxed, happier and healthier, all observations that surprise me (was I that frazzled and tired before I made the change?) but are sure hard to argue with. Truth be told, I have ZERO regrets of making the change and, while it hasn't been perfect (I mean, what is???), it's been an overwhelmingly positive change professionally and personally.

Here are a few of my key insights about myself that have further been shaped by this last year:

• First, I learned that I have skills. Sounds crazy doesn't it? But after being in an organization for so long and always working to improve myself and focusing on the next deliverable, I kind of lost perspective of what skills and knowledge I gained over the years and what value this can bring to my own company much less another organization. My problem solving skills, leadership skills and execution skills are among my top strengths and the experiences I had at Starbucks really developed these talents which I've found are highly valued in other organizations.
• The work day doesn't have to be rooted to an office from 7:00am-6:00pm. I have come to appreciate that working long days and showing your face in an office doesn't need to be a primary indicator of performance and achieving results. I don't miss all of those back-to-back-to-back meetings to get alignment on moving an initiative forward and the constant negotiation for resources and implementation timing that needs to occur formally and informally. It's refreshing to be able to drive work forward with more agility and less complexity and my impact is easier to see and measure. Additionally, my schedule is also more flexible, enabling me to attend many of my son's school sporting events. He's a Freshman in high school now and I only have a few more years left to participate before he's out of the house. This is time I'll never get back once he's gone and I'm grateful I can be there to cheer him on and celebrate his success in athletics which is one of his natural gifts.
• More autonomy and decision making responsibility is pretty awesome. My scope of responsibility is much broader than I expected and I've taken on functions that I likely wouldn't have the opportunity to in many larger companies where the jobs are more narrow. My core responsibility is laying out the company growth strategy and executing against it but I also have direct reporting authority for Marketing, Billing, Operations, Finance and have emerged as the HR leader. Some of these I have experience in and others I don't, resulting in an appropriate level of discomfort and developmental stretch. I also serve as a leadership coach and mentor for many inside and outside the organization which is something I love.
• Our industry is inspiring and motivating as we are directly impacting people's lives. In health and wellness, we embody the pure essence of serving others. We are literally helping people improve their lives, one individual at a time. To see clients come in discouraged, frustrated, in pain and lacking hope and to leave healed and back to doing what they love is so energizing. It ties to my higher purpose and personal values of helping others and reminds me of my own journey as a runner when I came to Kinetic three years ago with a discouraging injury. After a successful treatment program, I unexpectedly proceeded to run 10 half marathons and two full marathons without pain over the last three years. I never saw that coming and it's a true testament that we don't only help people get unstuck but actually live their lives to the fullest.

On the very small downside, there are a few things that I miss about Starbucks and being in a large company.

Initially, there was the shift in working for a very well known brand to a much lesser known one. Everyone in the world has heard of Starbucks and most people have experienced it as a customer which is not the same for Kinetic. People have an image of Starbucks for the product, service and contribution to the community and I find with Kinetic that I have to explain what we do to most people. I truly believe that our service and experience is unprecedented and am personally compelled to amplify our voice so more people can benefit from the awesome care we provide. I also worked to reshape my own my identity to be broader than just a company name but as a leader, coach, mentor and athlete.

I miss the lack of a peer group which became really clear after a few months in my new organization. I beefed up my networking and also joined a Mastermind group to fill this gap and this has provided the intellectual stimulation needed to help me grow and bring new ideas to my company as well as has created a resource group of experts to bounce ideas off of.

I definitely miss some of the people I used to worked with but I've found that many of those that still work at Starbucks are very busy and it's hard to get time with them. This makes me a little sad but I've come to terms that those relationships that matter will prevail and for those that are too busy, it's a byproduct of the work environment. I know because I was in the same situation.

Lastly, Starbucks does have really great benefits, particularly around retirement, health insurance and disability and this transition forced me to adjust my longer term game plan. I'm fortunate that I was able to retain my coffee benefit and partner discount for life given my long tenure with the company and this has translated to continued loyalty to the the brand. I always prioritize Starbucks as a meeting place and treat people to a cup of coffee as was my custom for 27 years.

All in all, it's been a fantastic transition. I'd never flat out tell someone to quit their job or that the grass is always greener on the other side, but I have coached plenty of people to think about what they love, when they are at their best and then to go after it. Life's too short to spend time doing anything else.