Glen from San Diego asks:
I am a founding member and a linchpin in my organization, but no longer see that as an asset. I run the largest and most successful department and have been told the business would greatly suffer in my absence. As we have grown, so have the meetings, committees, reports, regional regulations and certification standards. Although I still believe strongly in the mission of the organization, all this policy and procedure have leached much of the care out of me. I spend so little time doing what I came to originally do. I am not sure if I want to leave, or just feel guilty considering it. Being in upper management, I would like to try and effect change from within, but am not sure I have the stamina anymore. Any wisdom that can help me reunite with the passion I once held for my work and its cause?
Here are three principles to guide your consideration of options:
- Identify what you can control, and what you cannot control. If you’re working on the assembly line at General Motors and know there’s a better way to sell Chevy trucks, you may not be in a position to effect that change. Focus on what you can control and make decisions there.
- Recognize we all go through seasons in our lives. Don’t resist that. We embrace seasons in nature but frequently resist that in our own lives. It may be time for you to move on. You’re not the same person you were when you joined this company. You have new skills, more maturity and new possibilities.
- Know that organizations often change over time – and ultimately we find the people there are propping up the organization but have lost sight of the original mission. We see that in churches all the time. It may not be realistic to take the company back to the good ole days.
