Six lessons on changing companies

In the past eighteen months, I have changed companies twice (all virtually, thanks to COVID,? but that is for another blog). After fourteen years at Microsoft that was a lot of change! Six months in at Salesforce, it felt like a good time to share learnings, in the hope it might help others on their journey.??

1) Give yourself time?

No matter what role you join a company in, nobody expects you to know all the answers. Usually, the hardest critic here is yourself. You need to be ok with saying “I don’t know”. You also need to be ok with not sharing your perspective at times, as you may not have enough knowledge on the subject yet, “I don’t know enough on this topic yet to share my opinion”, is a fine answer.

Although sometimes your fresh perspective may be exactly what is needed (more to come on this later in number five).?

Take your time at the start to learn, you probably won't get time like this again, use it, meet people (build your network), take internal training to help you build your knowledge. At Salesforce we have an incredible learning community at Trailhead that enabled me to learn about our products, processes, etc.?

Side note, if you are ever interested in joining Salesforce, go there and start getting your badges now.?

2) What worked before can and will fail?

This one is a really tough one to find the right balance. The company you came from had its own way of operating and you’re probably an expert in many things that worked very well there.?

The danger here is you jump too soon to do things that way and it may not fit where you are now. We have all seen it whereby new leaders replicate what they did in the past and it simply doesn’t work (the worst is when it doesn’t connect with the culture, see five below).??

I have made this mistake and the reason is tied to number three.?

3) What worked before is needed ASAP??

This is why I said the balance is tricky. There is a reason you were hired for this job, you’re most likely an SME in your discipline, function, etc. You did things in your last role that helped you succeed. You’re a high performer and you want to succeed, you see a gap and you know a way to improve. Do I wait or do you just move????

Talk to your manager, your team, talk to your peers, other leaders, explain what you are thinking of doing (if you can), get other perspectives, and most importantly explain the why. When you explain things and the why doesn’t feel strong enough, it might not be the right time.

However, if it feels like the why is strong and the need is clear, move to implement. Personally, I believe this is where you need to go with your gut as a leader.?

I have made many mistakes here so where possible remember number one, but when the need feels right, do it. Most of the time your gut instinct will be right.???

4) Adapting to the Culture?

When you spend enough time at one company, the culture of that company becomes part of how you operate. No matter who the companies are, no two companies have the same culture.?

You need to learn the culture of where you are now and adjust. At salesforce, for me, that was starting with our values and really spending the time to understand the why behind them.

That meant talking to people who were here a while (be a sponge in these conversations, just listen and soak it in), I spent time going through training (trailhead again) and I read Mark Benioff's books.? This helped me understand Salesforce why and how it operates (V2MOM anybody?)

When you understand the culture and adapt to it (if needed), you’ll succeed a lot faster. I feel lucky that the culture at Salesforce is incredible and it was very easy to feel connected to it from the outset.???

5) Beginner's mind??

I wrote about this in a previous blog and I cannot emphasize this enough. Because you are new and because you are giving yourself time to learn, you will see things others don’t, especially as you ask questions.?

This is where bringing your fresh perspective adds so much value, ask the question, why are we doing it this way??

This may feel like I’m going against something I said in number two but it’s how you do it that matters. You’re asking questions to seek to understand and through that process, you may well form a perspective that is worth sharing. Go for it!?

I love this when I hire new people, they bring fresh eyes to how we are doing things. Now you are that person, speak up, tell people when you see another way. Sometimes people/teams see problems through the same lens they have always looked at them with. You can change the lens.

6) Change is great?

For me moving to Salesforce has been one of the best things I have done in my career. Reflecting on it I needed the change, it has rejuvenated me. Don’t get me wrong,? Microsoft is an incredible company, but personally, I know I had started to stagnate.

I would encourage you even if you want to stay at your current company, to look for opportunities to change your role, discipline, something that forces you out of your comfort zone.??

My perspective? I would encourage you to change companies at some point, it’s a big world out there, you might just love it.?

Ask yourself the question, are you choosing courage over comfort??

Summary

I hope you found something useful here for you. I wish I could say things are black or white on what you should or should not do but every situation is different and figuring it out, is all part of your growth.

Thanks for taking the time to read. Have you anything you would share that could help others? What else is important when changing companies? Would love to hear from you in the comments.?

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