Tag Archive: boss

3 Steps to take before you quit your job

April 8, 2016Blog, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It happens so suddenly.  Things seem to be chugging along and one afternoon you come to the drastic realization: “I want to quit my job”.   It may have been percolating for some time. Anger and resentment like to age like a fine wine (mmm wine. Is it Friday yet?).   Maybe something specific has triggered your sudden need for change. Perhaps you’ve had a sudden leadership shuffle or organizational realignment that just turned your work-life upside down. Either way, something has to change and you’re going with the all -or-nothing approach. You want to quit your job.

Okay, sit back and breathe.  This has happened to all of us.  The following 3 steps ensure that you are making the right move, and if the move is real – how to make sure you are prime interview material.

3 Steps to Take Before You Quit Your Job

Assess. Correct. Act.

1) Assess

First things first.  Let’s do some root cause analysis.  Some questions to ask yourself:

  • What do you love about your job?
  • What are you really good at?pablo
  • What could you be better at?
  • What makes you think you should be better at them?
  • What do you dislike about your job?
  • Which one in particular (there may be many, try to pick the one with the biggest impact) would you say is making you want to leave?
  • Why [insert answer to your last question here]? i.e. Why do you think your boss doesn’t know how to lead?
  • Why [insert answer to the last question here]? i.e. Why do you think your boss has no desire to help you to succeed?
  • Why….[you get the picture right]? i.e. Why do you think your boss dislikes you as a human?
  • What evidence do you have to support your beliefs/observations?
  • Is it possible these are assumptions?
  • Where do you want to go?
  • Why do you think it will be better?
  • What evidence do you have that supports that?
  • Is there a person/place/resource that you could use to determine if another agency/consulting firm/hospital etc. will be better?

*Note: This line of questioning will hopefully have you saying things like “Well, I just assume s/he dislikes me because x,y,z, but I don’t know this for a fact.”

2) Correct

Now, finding a job can take a while.  So maybe there are some opportunities in that big list above to make some course corrections.  Make things better.  Maybe they get so great you don’t need to leave, or maybe they just become more tolerable while you are on the hunt for that new dream job.

  • What can YOU change about your behaviours/habits/style that could help?
  • What skills/experiences do you need to develop to make the transition?
  • What tools, resources, people (mentors, colleagues etc.) do you have to help you make changes/get experience and skills?
  • What changes would help that YOU have influence over?
  • What things do you think can OTHERS change?  Are you willing to have a conversation with them about it/work together to solve it?
  • What things aren’t going to change/things you don’t have control or influence over (i.e. policies, organizational structure) ?  Can you come to terms with that staying the same during your transition?
  • What things might get in the way?

3) Act

Now do the things.   Make the changes.  Use your influence, tools, resources, and people to help you get what you need. Make the best of the situation.  Now is a great time to “SHINE”.  This will serve a couple of purposes: work will be more bearable, you will have overall better days that make you happier, you will be more confident, and you’ll have people who are willing to give great references. You may love it so much, you decide to stay.

Have you had the sudden urge to leave? Did you act on it? Did you use some of these steps? How did it turn out? What would you have done differently? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below or on Twitter @whiteboardcons #iquit.

Until next time!

Nicole

 

3 Leadership skills I learned from Joan Rivers

September 5, 2014Blog, , , , , ,

Love her or hate her, Joan Rivers represents more than cringe-worthy celebrity fashion bashing and plastic surgery.  She was part of my childhood growing up. I would nervously glance over at my Macedonian Nana, watching Joan’s latest antics, her mouth and eyes wide with shock, waiting for her to become wildly upset. Suddenly she would burst into infectious laughter and I’d be relieved we wouldn’t have the change the channel.

In recent years, Joan fed my insatiable hunger for celebrity gossip, either providing it herself, or providing me great scathing material to copy so I could provide hilarious fashion commentary for my friends when out for drinks.

joan 2

Despite an image that often resonated more with plastic surgery or her latest offensive comment, she somehow managed to forge a role in women’s leadership. Let’s look beyond her shameless obsession with looks and see that she did in fact serve as a role model and inspiration for women, overcoming blatant sexism to rise up as one of America’s first female standup comics.

3 Leadership Skills I learned from Joan Rivers…

1. Say it like it is.

Joan sure did not have the “nice filter” that we in business have seemed to grasp on to.    A good leader has the ability to not only provide the right recognition and rewards when necessary, but can also provide great critical feedback.  DISCLAIMER: I am NOT suggesting that we use sarcasm, teasing, and ridicule to provide feedback to our teams.  In fact, it was that razor sharp tongue that created a 3 decade long dispute with the Tonight Show – we don’t want that at work. No thank you. What we can do is channel a bit of that blunt, “say it like it is” attitude to just SAY what we need to say. Even if it is hard, or we don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings.

2. Be humble.

Joan’s humour was often self deprecating.  The greatest leader’s and bosses have the ability to recognize their strengths and weaknesses, and rather than fear their weaknesses and hide them, be okay with who their are.  Let’s be honest here. I’ve been using self deprecating humour since birth. But as a leader, sometimes I had this fear that if I showed my team that I wasn’t perfect they wouldn’t respect me. Not necessarily true. Demonstrate a humble attitude that tells the team: “I can’t do it all I need your help.” It is this kind of attitude that brings a group of individuals to works together with you as their boss to become and interdependent team -one that achieves more than every individual could do on their own.

3. Be Funny.

Work is serious. Your job is serious.  Issues at work are serious.  But, it’s okay to laugh.  It’s okay to make things light and fun, and to be serious when appropriate.  Again, I cannot profess that Joan taught me how to be funny (I was already incredibly hilareous). But her passing reminds us to share some laughs with our teams in her memory.

To conclude. I am hilarious, but also very humble, and when I channel my inner Joan, I can also tell people what I need to tell them without fear of hurting their feelings.

I’ve learned from my dealings with Johnny Carson that no matter what kind of friendship you think you have with people you’re working with, when the chips are down, it’s all about business. – Joan Rivers

Tell us about your inner Joan @whiteboardcons, #JoanRivers.

Until Next Time,

Nicole