Just Floating Away

16 Feb Just Floating Away

I have an old friend who left her job a few months ago.

 

She said she had grown tired of waking up before her alarm with that sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

 

The icy cold – “Can I do this one more day?” – kind of nausea.

 

My first question – “What led you to this point?”

 

Her answer didn’t surprise.

 

My second question – “What was the company’s reaction to your decision to leave?”

 

Her answer there did surprise.

 

“No one asked me why,” she said.  “There was no exit interview. I submitted a resignation…and I left.”

 

Now all of this might not be so tragic if I didn’t count this individual as what I call a Ten Percenter.

 

Top Ten Percent in terms of skills, character, and yes – results.

 

Or said another way – if I were starting another company and wanted to recruit former colleagues to help build it – this would be one of the very first I would reach out to.

 

How then could an organization simply allow talent of this caliber to disappear into the night – without even a “What’s up?”

 

“No one asked any questions,” she added. “I don’t think anyone cared enough to listen anyway.”

 

Those words haunted.

 

And as regards my first question – What led you to this point?

 

Her answer there I could predict – it’s a lament that sometimes seems universal.

 

Ask a high performer why they find themselves forced to walk away and you can almost always point to one of three factors.

 

And sometimes it’s all three.

 

• Factor #1 – The leadership. The best determinant of employee satisfaction has remained unchanged since the dawn of time – or at least the Industrial Age.  It’s the person you report to – there is NOT a close second. The indicators that matter:
  • Does this person support you – help you succeed?
  • Does this person communicate what’s expected of you – and clearly?
  • Does this person validate your importance – and your worth as an individual?
  • Does this person let you know how you’re doing – and offer coaching support that matters?
  • And finally, does this person actually care about you?

 

• Factor #2 – The people you are surrounded by. The individuals you interact with each day – your tribe – often dictate your happiness at work. The indicators that matter:
  • Do they support your contributions?
  • Can you talk openly with them?
  • Are they committed to doing quality work?
  • Do your opinions seem to matter?
  • And yes, do they care about you?

 

• Factor #3 – The culture of your company. Factors 1 and 2 inevitably lead to Factor 3.  While almost every organization has a high minded set of values they decorate the walls and company brochures with – it’s what you experience in the halls each day that really defines your company’s culture. The key indicators:
  • Does your company value its employees – or does it treat them as expendable assets?
  • Is the organization’s vision – its purpose – one that you believe in – are aligned with?
  • Is there real value in your work here?
  • Is there a future?
  • And, once more, is there evidence the company really cares about you?

 

 

My friend’s explanation on why she left spoke to all three factors – but it centered on the first – reconfirming an immutable truth.

 

People generally don’t leave companies until they’ve first already left their leader.

 

Which leads us then, to the second question.

 

“What was the company response to all of this?”

 

There was none.

 

And the silence was deafening.

 

My friend made a good decision.

 

She actually cared.

 

Enough to finally say goodbye.