The CIO had spent almost 5 years in the position thriving
and surviving all the uncertainties of business and change in management. He
had done well to build a reputation with business leaders with his can do
attitude and ideas helped them win in their playing field. Technology vendors
loved him for the fact that he was willing to experiment and deploy emerging
solutions with calculated risks that brought them further business. He took on
additional business responsibilities which added to his experience of a score
of years. Then suddenly he quit !
Everyone wondered what happened, some guessed what had
happened, confidantes knew the reason behind the presumably sudden move. It was
cooking for a while within; his outwardly calm disposition did not raise any suspicion
of the turmoil within. For a large part of the year prior to taking the drastic
step, he continued to live with a façade which eventually impacted his persona.
Something snapped inside, his professional pride hurt he found it difficult to
continue. As soon as he had an option, he hastily exited inconsiderate of the
adverse impact.
A difference of opinion, perceived gap in skills, and real
lack of experience for a favorite project of a Board member left him in no
man’s land despite industry experts willingness to back him. The project was
thus separated from IT and a new peer position was on-boarded. As time passed
by he found himself being marginalized in some of the discussions falling off
the radar with attention largely focused on the favorite project. He continued
to toil until the proposed change of reporting relationship (to his peer) became
the proverbial last straw and he quit !
A post-mortem would throw up many advice on what he could
have done to rescue the situation and bring himself back into relevance; that
anyway belongs to lessons provided from the stands when the game is on. The
cardinal mistake he made was to leave in a huff with scant regard to the impact
his exit had on ongoing activities, tasks, and outcomes. Pleas to reconsider
his decision and later to extend his notice period were ignored with ego
prominently dictating the actions. With a small step the bridge built over the
years was broken.
He took up the new assignment that had triggered his bold
step only to find out that culturally he was unable to fit into the new organization;
unable to accept the ethos, he left within weeks without notice. These steps
did not go unnoticed in the industry and quietly seeped across through the
network; while no one raised the question, peers were nice to him in a
diffident way with warmth of the past missing. His requests for connects
towards new openings and opportunities were accepted though none made any
progress towards materialization.
Young professionals today tactically make career moves based
on their need for gratification, personal gain and opportunities in the market.
In the build phase of their foundations they flutter around before they find
their bearings and settle down. In the mid-career stage relationships are built
that help climb the corporate ladder and build credibility on the task and
people axis. The persona thus created aids move to level of leadership from
just managing people thereby connecting the dots and strengthening the bonds
that can last a lifetime.
Courting period with an enterprise starts with best
behavior; why does the exit need to be the worst ? If there is any bitterness
towards the culture, environment, incident, team, people, anything that makes
the blood pressure rise, let go as from the next day onwards they are not going
to be part of daily life. It is unfortunate that some companies also behave
like jilted lovers when someone senior decides to pursue alternative
opportunities. The market quickly comes to terms and discounts reference checks
with such companies.
The struggle of the protagonist with a few bad decisions impacted
his ability to find an opportunity; when alternatives are plenty, prospective
companies are not amenable to forego such indiscretions. What if he does not
fit in here culturally ? What if there is really something wrong with him as a
person ? Will he bad mouth us when he leaves ? There are many what-ifs that
deter an opportunity. Bridges are expected to withstand a lot of stress and
natural elements; bridges of relationships too require strength from within and
resilience to survive incidents and external factors.
Take care !
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