This week we received a cacophony of feedback. Dissonance is a collective noun when feedback is received unilaterally from a variety of sources. The main points are:
I get very few likes on my posts, but my open rates are high, I get a lot of great emails and direct messages, and people are always saying, “Every time I open LinkedIn/Substack/Instagram.” , I suspected something was going on. You’re there” (makes me want to be swallowed up by the ground).
But after looking at the feedback, I can see why.
There seem to be several reasons, but I’ll start with the obvious one. You don’t want your boss to know that you’re thinking of quitting your job.
I doubt that many bosses have the time or, frankly, the curiosity to spy on their staff’s social media engagement. Even if you do, do “likes” on LinkedIn warrant escalation of “flight risk” to HR (sometimes I miss the dramatic internal language)?
Others said it wasn’t an issue with my boss, but making sure my co-workers were interested in my content.
To me, this seems more like it.
Colleagues have more time than your boss and are probably more interested in your work. but why? One word: gossip.
From my early days at John Lewis, I found myself embroiled in a whirlwind of gossip about the goings-on within the company. If Mike, who came from China and Glass, moved into the furniture industry, who would get his job? Joe was certainly ready for the move. She worked in the lighting department for over three years, and kitchenware was a big department.
It was electric.
As I wrote in my book (as you know, Pre-order on Amazon – July 2ndn.d.), life at BP wasn’t really that different. Similar covert operations regarding job changes. The post appeared on the intranet and, like smoke in the Vatican, everyone immediately knew. The gossip began: “Who became that candidate?”, “There is a preferred candidate”, “It’s a controlled movement, no need to bother applying”, etc.
Internal jungle drum.
Therefore, gossip may be a factor.
Also, some of the clients I’ve worked with have felt a pretty sad sense of shame. It may feel like a bit of a failure to quit your job. As if he had given up.
Of course it’s garbage. But others are still there and seem so successful that leaving may feel like something is wrong.
One of my clients (Anon.) summed it up well: “I want to break up, but it’s a little bit like walking away from a marriage or relationship that I was really invested in.”
Of course, I completely empathized with her – it felt the same way for me. My identity and pride in working for a large, global company was suddenly pulled under the proverbial rug. In many ways, her 16 years working for the same employer was like a marriage.
And I still look back and wonder why I couldn’t have risen to a higher position, become a great leader, towered over the empire, and done it.
Quitting can feel like a failure.
But success and failure are relative.
Now, I consider both my career and leaving the company to be a great success. I’m not ashamed of either.
But this is now, three years later. In almost every way, I was able to prove to myself that I was better off quitting.
So, of course, I want all my posts to be liked, so the algorithm goes wild.
But what I really want is for you to ignore everyone else (apart from your nearest and dearest) and really think about what you do. you want.
what do you want from now on Opportunity comes only once in life. Because, almost for the second time since I left my job at BP, I realized that outside of the very small world of corporate work, there is a much bigger, more exciting, exciting, and confidence-building world out there. Ta.
Your own pottery and glass or kitchen utensils.
And it will be for you too.
It’s a chance to put yourself out there and live your best life.
[P.S. Please like my posts, I won’t tell anyone]
Today, Corporate Escapology’s newest podcast features Lilli Graf.
– We talk about freelancing as a more resilient career option than employment, as well as confidence, community and culture. I hope it inspires you and builds your confidence. If Lili can do it, why can’t you?
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