It made mainstream media that another top executive quit Uber this week; however, most posts were only concerned with the effect on business. If you look closer, you can get the rest of the story and how the root cause reflects in your restful - or restless - sleep.
A lot of people read articles: how to be more successful, what keys to the morning help propel you to success, why it’s important to do X/Y/Z to build your dreams successfully. These same people forget that if you follow everyone else, you only reach for someone else’s definition of success.
Flocking to a growth company sounds great, but what Jeff Jones discovered was my “beliefs and approach to leadership were that have guided my career are inconsistent with what I saw and experienced.” He voted with his feet and walked right out the door.
Uber defines startup success for some people, but this one person knew it wasn’t for him. He knew that he couldn’t right this troubled ship. He recognized that the company could be performing better, working better with its employees — but the dysfunction and flooding of issues needs to be corrected from top down (and honestly, he wasn’t “the top” to make the calls).
This illustration of a shorter duration of restlessness was easily identified as what caused sleepless nights. An employee’s desire to fix things, to right the ship, for improving community all were not progressing. He chose to walk away, even though the challenge is likely what attracted him.
If you are more of a sports fan, you could relate to Andre Agassi’s tennis career with insights from his fantastic and insightful autobiography, Open. When he walked away from tennis, he realized, “One day your entire way of life ends. It’s a kind of death.”
Who had the better choice, Jeff or Andre? Both had sleepless night, both worked very hard to achieve their number one status. However, one walked away while he was still on top, and Agassi admits that if he went back to the sport that he’d retire sooner.
You are younger in your career than either of these pros. Perhaps your sleepless nights aren’t going to end in retirement or walking out of the game. But by using the correct word choice to identify the root cause of the situation, your restlessness should be an indicator of something being wrong in your life — most often, we find it’s our work environment.
Your mindset needs to reflect where you want to go, not where you are. By seeking out new opportunities, the problem set may take different analysis or you may think you are taking a step backward on this imagined career ladder. Who cares besides yourself? You need to be happy (useful, fulfilled, empowered - pick a great adjective that fits your goal) as you work toward your own definition of success (which I am certain doesn’t include misery, senseless heartburn or repetitive futile exhaustion).
The powerful decision makers actually choose tough solutions; they don’t make decisions to get away from problems.
Heather M. Hilliard is Principal and Chief Strategist for R. Roan Enterprises, LLC, a professional services consulting firm supporting businesses in pointed areas of expertise as well as with individuals for targeted projects or career development. For more articles like these, visit her posts on LinkedIn or on G+.
#seizetheday, #makeithappen
