Should I Stay or Should I Go?
We all face certain periods in our career where we are confronted with the decision and risk of leaving the company we are working for or staying for the long haul.
While is hard to say that there is a set of criteria that defines what momentum is right or wrong to move forward, there are a couple of things that might give you the hint that is time to stay for the long haul or leave and move forward to a new path in your professional career.
You should stay if…
- You like the environment you work with: It might seem a natural thing, but there are actually few organizations (in a relative scale) which offer an exciting, collaborative and positive environment to their employees. If you are in an environment that offers such characteristics you might want to think twice before moving forward.
- You ambition a bigger role in the organization: There are a fair amount of factors that can help you deciding in leaving a company and adventure on a new path, but if you feel that your role in the organization is not over, then is not over. If there are responsibilities you ambition to have, new colleague you want to work with, different business units you want to experience or just increase the knowledge within your current position, then might be worth staying a bit longer.
- You are trusted by your peers and bosses: Gaining honest and authentic trust is an hard job in any work environment. There are a reasonable amount of things that have to be in place to gain full trust of your peers, teammates and bosses. If you have that trust and have a strong and reputable opinion inside your organization, then you might want to stay a bit longer and gain higher and even more positive influence amongst the several stakeholders you work with.
You should leave if…
- You no longer enjoy what you are doing: You lost the passion for what you are doing and you don’t envision any other role in the organization that can bring you that happiness. If that is the case keep in mind that is almost certain your performance will be affected and you might also prejudice your organizations’ and peers’ performance as well. Consider looking for new opportunities or openly talk about your current situation with your manager.
- You don’t connect to your organization’s mission: It’s not easy to connect one’s daily activities with their organization’s purpose. Very few employees are able to well balance the short-term perspective of daily operations and performance tracking, with a long-term vision of what is the future of the company and its direction. If you take some time to stop, think about your organization’s future and direction and cannot imagine yourself throughout such path, you might want to consider a new career route.
- You are not fully trusted, neither counseled: Not all organizations have a coherent and well implemented feedback system. Sometimes you can go on a full year without getting feedback from your bosses and peers and that might not help you improving yourself and your performance. If you are feeling that you are not learning or evolving in your current role, and your continuous requests for feedback are not being attended, then might be time to consider a different organization or business unit, with a better feedback system and honest amongst their employees.
What other reasons do you think might exist to stay or leave an organization? Have you ever faced such situation? If so, leave your comments and suggestions below. We would love to hear your perspective!
