Here are the 4 most important things to consider before you quit your job, according to an executive coach
Tutti Taygerly is a leadership and executive coach who works with workers across the tech industry. She cautions her clients not to"mistake motion for progress" when they're considering moving on from one job to the next.
When I worked at Facebook, one of my favorite posters lining the campus walls was an arresting shade of bright red with the dark outline of a child's rocking horse. Bold, all-caps, white letters state:"Don't mistake motion for progress." I can't help thinking about this line when I hear about my friends, colleagues, and clients who are thinking about moving on from one job to the next, especially during what some have begun to call"The Great Resignation." In fact, according to a recent surveyBut when we jump to the next shiny object, it can be hard to tell if our motion is movement. Are we simply rocking back and forth while continuing to stay still in one place, or are we truly advancing our career significantly? With a tech career — and the high demand for jobs like UX design, software engineering, and developing — many of us are lucky enough to be able to jump to the next enticing opportunity. Before you jump, pause for a moment. Evaluate these four aspects to see if you're moving from a sense of restlessness or if that shiny new opportunity is truly worth pursuing. One of my clients, let's call him Chido, changed jobs every couple of years. Working at a virtual reality hardware company gave him the thrill of developing new ways for humans to interact with technology. Working at Apple gave him a leadership team that was truly obsessed over quality and design. Working at a business software company allowed him to support people who were motivated to complete core work tasks. For Chido, excitement was conquering new types of work. Think back to the day you accepted your job offer and remember what excited you the most about the opportunity. Consider staying if that excitement still exists. And if it's faded, look for a similar desire in what's next.It's easy for us to fall into a pattern of venting. It might be the fallout from the latest re-organization or how leadership is excessively focused on achieving metrics without considering quality or company culture. Instead, pause to focus on the wins. Track what is going well with your role, your team, and the company direction. Look for ways you can do more of what is going well. Many of us get single-mindedly focused on the outcomes for ourselves and our teams. We ask ourselves, When will I get that promotion? How do we hit those sales goals? What's the path towards product launch? Instead, consider a different question that's more process-focused. Ask yourself: What do I want to learn most right now? Then formulate a learning plan. When Chido asked himself this question, he realized that he wanted to see a product through many cycles of iteration and customer feedback. Finally, think about your current relationships at work. Which are the ones that build a sense of community, support, and excitement for you? It might be an inspiring leader, a nurturing boss, or a team member who gives helpful direct feedback. For Chido, he realized that he felt most energized at work when the cross-functional leaders of engineering, product, and design teams all worked collaboratively together. When evaluating that next career move, consider these four facets and ask yourself if you're ready to let go of them in your current work focus. Think about how they might change in the next job. Consider if that dreamy new opportunity will significantly change things up for you or if you're moving simply for the sake of movement. After Chido contemplated these four facets, he left his job, but not for a shiny new object. He chose to stop rocking back and forth, exploring new industries yet not making progress in his career. Instead, he returned to a previous job with a manager he trusted. He craved the depth of launching and learning through long-term projects with a supportive team. He avoided the hardship of the first 90 days with a new company and knew that returning to his previous workplace would give him valuable time to work on his creative side-projects. Chido found a way to achieve both motion and progress in his career.Subscribe to push notifications
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