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Anna starts her dream job. She is excited as she has ever been about her new role in this company. The interview process was amazing. The company vision and plans are in alignment with where she believes the industry is going. She actually felt part of the work family before she was even given the job offer. All signs point to a great successful next few years for her and for the company she is choosing to work for. She accepts the offer and joins on for the new adventure!
The first 3 months were great. Often the honeymoon periods are. She was able to meet some great people, start to do some pretty cool stuff, and given flexibility to reimagine the work her team was doing. She continues to be excited about what she is doing and the impact her team is having for the company. She feels really good about her decision and is even more excited about the opportunity she took. However she realizes its early days and there is still much to learn about the new company and org she joined.
About 6 months in, there was an org change. As we know this happens quite a bit in the corporate world. Anna has been through these before, so she wasn't overly worried. However the first few weeks after the change were confusing. The messaging on the why change happened was unclear. The value from the change was not understood. The new goals didn't seem to resonate with her or her team members. The general productivity impact it was having on Anna and her team was really worrying her.
A few more months pass and now everything Anna had done in her first few months are being rolled backed or changed. The work her team is doing is changing dramatically from what she signed on for. The overall direction and leadership guidance is mixed messages at best. She hears things, but she does not believe them. Even so, doubt, enters the equation. Doubt of whether she made the right choice, doubt in her leaders, doubt in the organizational direction, and doubt in her future with the company.
Before the year is out Anna leaves the company. What really happened here? Did Anna make a bad choice to join in the first place?
What happened here? I believe it is something I call the obscurity of unclear leadership. It is my belief and experience that people want to be inspired, they want to be led, and they want to see how their contribution really help the company or org deliver value. When leaders change their minds, communicate poorly, are not aligned, or lack the inspirational power of trust and belief; we see talented folks like Anna leave organizations.
What can each of us do about it? Be a voice of the employee to leadership. Some really good leaders just have blind spots. Not being afraid to share those in a kind and understanding way can really help your org and company. Being a leader where you are, is just as important as someone with the titled leadership role. We each have the opportunity to make the work family what we want it to be.
I encourage us all to be our own advocate. Sometimes this may mean you leave managers, org, or companies. Many times it will mean the experience that you have with your current org or company will just get better!
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