Time To Go? Part 3: How To Figure Out What To Do Next In Your Career
Have you ever looked at your career and thought, “I don’t want to keep doing this…but I have no idea what I want to do?” That’s a common question I hear from many successful professionals. In this post I’ll walk you through a simple three-step process that can help you identify what’s next that fits how you were designed and provides more purpose and meaning.
Time To Go Part 2: Wrong and Right Ways To Leave A Company
Keep in mind your departure will be the last impression many people have of you.
Even if you’re frustrated with leadership or disappointed by circumstances, you’ve likely built meaningful relationships along the way. The people who remain may understand your decision, but they may also feel some sadness, disappointment or even abandonment. While you can’t eliminate those feelings, you can soften the blow and avoid burning bridges in the process.
And remember…you may need those bridges again someday.
Time To Go? Part 1: Knowing When It’s Time to Leave Your Company
Most leaders I work with are loyal people. They don’t quit at the first sign of difficulty. They push through challenges, solve problems and remain committed when others might walk away.
But there are times when staying is no longer the right answer.
How do you know when is the right time?
Here are five signs it may be time to leave:
How Is Fear Impacting Your Decisions? You Need P.O.W.E.R.
Most leaders don’t recognize fear when it’s happening. It rarely announces itself. Instead, it often disguises itself as urgency, caution, perfectionism or the need to maintain control.
The truth is that fear is one of our most powerful emotions. It was designed to protect us from danger and help us survive. In the right situations, fear is incredibly useful.
The Leadership Mistake That Quietly Drives People Away
Most organizations do a poor job recognizing people.
Under pressure, leaders naturally focus on productivity, efficiency, deadlines and results. But in doing so, they often overlook the very people making those results possible.
The Leadership Trap: Solving Problems That Aren’t Yours
He told me, “I can’t help myself…I know I need to stay high-level, but I keep getting pulled in.”
What he didn’t realize was the more he solved…the more his team stepped back.
Not because they weren’t capable…but because he was filling the space they needed to grow into.
The Hidden Cost of Being The Calm Leader
Being calm under pressure is a coveted leadership quality. It is along the lines of the Kipling poem, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you.”
But there is a point where that can flip and go bad on you. Like when the light at the end of the tunnel turns out to be an oncoming train. During fast markets on the trading floor, we used to say, “If you are not panicking now, you are not paying attention!”
What’s Missing In Self-Help
He had already gone the self-help route, reading lots of books and taking a few assessments. He had attended leadership seminars and watched plenty of Ted Talks and YouTube videos. He was growing but at a slow, incremental rate.
He also had this nagging feeling that he was missing something….something nobody was willing to tell him. His reviews were pretty good but never gave him anything substantial to work on.
The Key Employee Was About To Quit…Then This Happened
“Can you stick around after the workshop? I have decided to quit and have two job offers. I need help choosing which one fits me best.”
If you are not familiar with Working Genius, it identifies the work that gives you energy, fulfillment and joy. It also identifies the work that frustrates and drains you.
Four Ways Leaders Unintentionally Intimidate Their Teams
He had worked his way up within the company and believed he had built strong relationships along the way. Yet six months into his tenure as CEO, his people were experiencing a very different version of him.
I assured him the feedback was incredibly valuable because we were catching it early.
He half-joked, “At this rate my CEO tenure might be pretty short.”
Why Leadership Gets Lonely Fast…And What Smart Leaders Do About It
Most people think leadership is about authority, influence, and success.
But many leaders discover something unexpected once they reach the top:
Isolation.
In this video, I explain why leadership can feel lonely and how great leaders avoid the two biggest mistakes that make it worse.
You’ll also learn how to build a Support Mountain, a powerful leadership framework that provides the perspective, feedback and renewal every leader needs.
If you lead people, make decisions under pressure or want to grow as a leader, this episode is for you.