Intro

That company you’re a part of is not your life. It may feel like that, especially if you’re in your “early career” say sub 30-35, but it’s not. Yes, some of you may stay with your current company forever until you permanently exit, but highly unlikely for probably, 99% at this point. Given that nearly all exit their company at some level, at some point, Founders or CEOs, even that board, it’s important to keep perspective. Perspective that there is more to this world than that big corporate entity. Everything, and everyone is temporary. That context is powerful—always an opportunity to evolve, you.

Beware, if you’re in the thick of it with a big company, Fortune 1000, or bigger, this may be too much to read today. 

The Story

Realizing There is More

A few years ago, coming out of a tremendous turnaround period with our business, I could see I wasn’t going to realize the runway to develop in the way I wanted and needed. We had just pulled off a circus act, but we could see it wasn’t appreciated or valued. I knew there was more meaning out there for me. Loved the team, daily autonomy in the tactical work, but I could see strategic direction of the bigger business didn’t align. I was focused on long term sustainable business, growing our margins by establishing exceptional operations, developing our team, and delivering for our customer. All build value and partnership, leading to divisional growth and growing opportunities for all. Great people, doing great work, building great relationships, builds business. Sounds good, right?

But I could see the corporate bureaucracy ladder as I had been there done that, and the work about the work was all-consuming. Everything we did was to serve the machine—no meaning, passion, care for what’s right, best, or what could be, instead it was all about making that decision look good and extracting margin. Nothing more. We were playing stock price and politics.

It was power games and CYA theory. I had joined another large corporation and expected something different. Nothing was different, it was worse. Externally, amazing, internally, at least in this division, it was a shit show.

Side note that became quite clear from learning over the last twenty years—when the focus inside the firm is about building a deck to serve an internal leader (not even the CEO/C-Suite), not a great sign. I was burned out on the corporate olympics.

Corporate Two-Step

A warning to those in that battle right now—if you have a feeling similar to above, those leaders don’t want to know what you think, they want to know if you’ll feed them ideas  to build their empire and if you’ll be a good soldier to execute on their mission. They want you to have no ambition beyond taking direct orders or feeding their machine. Ambition beyond that is seen as the enemy in the corporate machine. 

At first, I didn’t know what I wanted to be, differently than what I was already doing. I already was in what many in the industry would see as a great job, terms, working for what is seen as a premium brand, with a big name client. But I didn’t love it. Loved the team I was on, the client had so much potential for a long term strategic partnership, but the work wasn’t challenging anymore, too much work about work, distractions internally from doing great work and building long-term, versus interesting impactful client and team focused work.

We had recently completed a significant turnaround with a major business area, I asked for more work the year prior, which I was never able to secure in part, due to a significant lack of growth in the industry, which also correlated with one of the biggest pullbacks in corporate hiring in recent decades. I had joined the organization at promises of a broader role, not one client program, but unfortunately that was only in my plans. 

Innovation was non-existent. All restrictions, no autonomy. High autonomy with daily work, but to actually invest, evolve, and create a true strategic partnership, not a chance. And no clear future forward. Company way, toe the line, suck it up, or hit the road. That was going to be my role for 4-5 years minimum. I wasn’t about to settle for that life. Fake relationships to climb—I couldn’t do it anymore. 

When what you have is perceived as great, or enough, it makes it so much harder to accept what your heart and mind is telling you. I felt ungrateful, selfish, and not happy with myself about this constant feeling that wouldn’t go away. It only got stronger. I even had some close to me saying, being “content” is okay, it’s okay to be bored. I refused. Writing helped, but it also made it even more clear—I needed a change, but to what?

Self-development and growth don’t happen by hoping. Reaching your goals happens through intentional action. 

Leaders Are Built To Elevate Companies, Teams, & Themselves

I saw my job in a way I feel leaders often need to be—replaceable. Build a team that builds a business, eventually elevating all leaders and people in the business. My job as an operations leader is to elevate the team and business to work myself out of the job. Prepare others for their new roles, while I prepare myself for my next step. Continue to elevate the team and organization. This doesn’t mean work yourself to the street, or even out of the firm, if you and the firm grow together. It means working to allow for the business and people to grow, so you can step into your next role, along with all your people. This builds opportunity and retains your best. That’s how I see promotions really can happen for leaders, with preparing and stepping up into that next role—but that wasn’t the culture. The culture was play the game, be in a development group for two years, and we’ll see. I could see this was a place where you’re kept in your box if you don’t have the tenure or connections to effectively play the game. I was over the games.

In my view, even the CEO can move to a Chair role or Advisory, even the C-Suite can move to CEO, and so on. There is always room to grow with, or without the company. You as a professional and the company decide that. When you find alignment, it’s magical, when you don’t, it’s time to keep seeking your place.

Keep building, keep growing, and don’t let anyone beat that out of you.

Closing

Continuing to find your thing, at your place, doing it in your way, where it’s appreciated and rewarded. Your career or business is worth it. This doesn’t mean drop everything and go all in on something that’s not at that point yet, rather it means intentional growth towards your thing, your path, what moves you. Never settle for mediocrity—you’ll likely regret it.

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"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

- Mark Twain

About the Author, Graham Peelle