This is a question I have often asked myself as well as been asked. It’s a hard question, especially if you are working for a company you have an affinity for or investment in. We usually find ourselves confronted with this question when we have been fighting the good fight for culture shift, change, or alignment and all we see is…nothing. The same bad decisions are made based on the wrong motivators. The company seems to continue to say one thing and then actually do another. So then what?
Now, I am not a person who likes to leave things unfinished. I loathe not finishing things, and I hate lack of clarity and transparency. Ultimately, I like to check things off my list and I like knowing that I am understood and I understand those around me. I hate feeling like I’m missing something, or there’s something more I could (maybe) have done.
If this resonates with you at all, you likely are asking yourself or others the question at the title of this installment. I have a few astuces for you that will hopefully help encourage you. (Pardon the French, but sometimes other languages say it better…also, if you check out the link, the English equivalent is there, I promise!)
With that, here are the astuces:
- Have you exhausted all (I mean ALL) the resources at your disposal?
- Do your personal Values resonate or match the company’s Values?
- Do you have more to learn here? What?
The hard thing about being in a situation where things aren’t changing is understanding when it is not up to you to make the change. I’m not a huge advocate for this as I believe you always have a choice. However, there are instances when the company and you diverge and are no longer moving in the same direction. This is okay. But you must take an honest assessment of the questions above and then seek to understand if it is time for you to move.
The other little tidbit I want to share with you is this great visual representation of the Emotional Cycle of Change (ECOC), which depicts our emotional state as we go through change.
If you feel like nothing is changing, like everything you have and are doing is a waste and you may as well give up, it’s very possible that you have hit Stage 3: The Valley of Despair. As you can see, this is exactly the time you must not quit – quitting here means just hitting restart and going through the first three stages all over again.
So take a deep breath. Consider the questions above. Refocus on your vision. Keep going. You’re doing great.