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by Maggie Bellville, Partner, CarterBaldwin
It’s interesting when you leave a job. From Washington to Wall Street, it happens everyday. Something strange transpires when you leave a job though. I should know; I’ve done it twice recently. It’s not so much that something happens to you; it’s more like something happens around you.
It all starts with the talk – the buzz. You only hear of it when it makes its way back to you like a faint echo from a distant mountain. But, believe me, once you’ve left a “great” job – the talk will start. And you’ll only hear of it when the few friends you still have find their way back to you (by the way, the operative word here is few).
The talk usually starts at conferences, seminars, or meetings, and is more often than not triggered by the conspiratorial rendering of three of the most foreboding words in the English language: Did you hear?
Then in hushed tones, the follow-up; another three-word question that many may ask but only a few really mean: Is she OK?
In reality, “Is she OK?” roughly translates to, “How could she do that? How could she leave the industry? For Pete’s sake, how could she leave us?”
There are other more idiomatic translations as well. Things like, “Has she lost her mind?” or “Is she nuts?” Or my personal favorite: “She got canned, huh? So what’d she do?”
In the process, you feel like you’ve become a modern-day version of something from the lawless days of the Old West: the lifeless body of a desperado propped up outside the sheriff’s office, a not-so-subtle warning to would-be bank robbers, rustlers and bushwhackers – Be careful, this could be you!
Well the truth is, at least for me that was not the case. Honest. People can decide to leave a job, not because they have to, but because they want to.
They want to because of family, or sanity, or waking up one day and finding the need to explore another part of themselves. They want to because of all the things people need in their lives, the one they need most desperately is change.
And as my Italian mom would say, “Change is good. Always good.” And change is the reason many of us leave our jobs and our companies.
Change isn’t just good for the individual though; it’s often good for the organization. Two years ago the last place Florida Marlins changed managers mid-season and won the World Series. Why? Who knows, but the difference between the new manager and the old one apparently made all the difference in the world.
Today there is great change taking place throughout the business world. Pre-profit start ups and Fortune 500 companies alike are increasingly taking risks by hiring very unique business minds and placing them in key leadership roles.
The result is change – people from very different backgrounds bringing new perspectives, experience, and thinking to new industries; people taking calculated risks and trying new approaches; encouraging good people to support, listen, try and do.
And when it comes to change, never underestimate the importance of top-down support. Because when someone tries to initiate change – to take something and attempt to make it better – invariably they will be taken to task and made to seem small by even smaller minds.
Do you remember the movie “The Contender,” in which Joan Allen plays a woman nominated for Vice President of the United States? She was subjected to a politically motivated campaign of lies and deceit, and eventually withdrew her name from consideration. It was only when the President stepped in and said she was his candidate and he was going to back her 100% that the rats scurried and she got the job.
It was a moving moment and a dramatic example of what support from above can mean to those down the line.
Many years ago I was recruited into the Cable industry to create change, to lend my background and experience to the business. And while I hope it worked – and it certainly feels like it did – none of it would have been possible without the full support of those above me.
Recently I accepted a new role in the Executive Search industry. Here again I hope my background and experience will help my new company innovate and evolve to take advantage of fresh opportunities.
Change is occurring in today’s business environment at breakneck speed. Our leaders are taking unprecedented risks, not only in terms of strategies, but in hiring bright, aggressive minds from across the business landscape. Don’t neglect your duty to welcome these newcomers with diverse backgrounds and different ideas and integrate their new perspectives and fresh dynamics into your organization.
And, if you’re the one making the change by leaving your current position, kudos to you. I wish you all the best in taking what you’ve learned, what you’ve experienced, and what you know to an exciting new arena and I urge you to embrace every aspect of the change with open arms.
Because, make no mistake; change is rarely bad. What it usually is, however, is hard. But as hard as it may be, I’m here to tell you that the rewards far outweigh the investment.
Maggie Bellville is a partner in the Atlanta-based executive search firm CarterBaldwin. She can be reached at .
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