Shh...Don't talk about people leaving

So in our weekly level 10 (senior team meeting) we had a conversation about addressing a few of the senior team leaving. I am sort of reluctant to talk about it, not because it is an issue, far from it, but because it feels like saying it makes it a thing, and saying you are ok with it makes people wonder, if you are talking about it maybe your not ok with it. Kind of like the

“your annoyed”?

?“no I’m not”

“Yeh you are annoyed, I can tell”?

“Well I am now”

Type conversation…?

So anyway, here is me, trying to talk about it without people second-guessing, “reading between the lines” and all that jazz.?

Statistically, our churn is way lower than the average of the market… just to start off with some facts to truly get everyone thinking… what is he not telling us!

In summary, we have had 3 of our senior team leave since December of last year. 2 because they want to do something else, and 1 because they want to be with family on the other side of the country and the role doesn’t work in a remote capacity. So, that’s really it in brass tacks.

Of course, it is a shame to lose some of the senior team who have been with us for a long time and helped us reach the point where we are now, but at the same time I am the first person to congratulate them on making a brave decision to enter the unknown. I would be somewhat hypocritical if I (who did similar 15 years ago) said anything else.?

I guess people will wonder why 3 people in a similar time, and why now? I can’t fully answer that of course as I didn’t make the decision but, I would say that the last few years have been mega challenging as a business and on all the individuals in it. I think personally the world we have all been faced with has made all of us review what is most important to us, and that perhaps, sometimes after all the challenges, we have some scars to show for it, things won’t be the same again, there is no going back to the way SGM was (which is true for all businesses and people unless you are in full denial of progress and change).?

So now is as good a time as any to make that change, find something new and leave behind the business in a strong position, and know that it wont be what it was and nor should it be. But hey, if you are chatting to one of them, you can ask and hear their individual story! I think after the last few years of challenges I suspect a lot of us have wondered if now is a good time to move on and “reset” mentally to a new challenge.

For SGM, we press on. We have new people stepping in and some stepping up. Bringing new ideas, fresh energy, and thinking to all positions. And this in itself is quite exciting, as there isn’t as much “history”. We are moving on, and focusing on where we are now, and how we get to where we want to be. I think after the last few years it is important to make a “Fresh start” be that in a new position, or mentally approaching your current role in that way.?

We have an ambitious plan for growth and what got us here won’t necessarily get us to where we want to be, which is why that energy and focus will be so important for the business going forward.?

So, has that helped answer some of the questions? Has that added more doubt? Who knows?!? Again it is not for me to decide how you read and interpret this, I will let you worry about that. In the meantime, we are head down, cracking on, and excited about what this year and the coming years will bring for SGM. Yet still immensely grateful for what all the Giants, Senior or Junior, incoming through to outgoing, have contributed, and continue to contribute to making SGM the place that it is now.