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Tag: #supervise
Turning Disappointment into Career Insight: Learning from Loss
Turning a loss into learning
I believe in the axiom Every time a door closes a window opens. Maria in The Sound Of Music is the first place I heard it. There is some discussion about the source.
Early in my career, I applied for a promotion. I had stellar qualifications and my performance put me head and shoulders above other candidates. I even got the first perfect score on the test to evaluate my readiness for the role. As a result, I expected to win the roll. But, I did not. The job went to someone less skilled and qualified. So, I asked to speak with the VP of Human Resources responsible for making the selection and asked what happened.
What she told me made me very angry while setting the stage to turn disappointment into career insight!
You did not get the job because honesty is very important to you.
What?!
I argued that honesty was part of our mission, honesty was a corporate value, honest is what we want our kids to be, we swear an oath when we testify to tell the truth! I made a very compelling argument. She listed attentively and agreed with me, and surprised me by saying unfortunately, that’s not a part of our culture and I think you would find it frustrating to in a role working with people who don’t share you views on honesty being important. You should find an organization that has the same mission and values as you. I did not understand or agree.
Angered by the response, I quickly found the promotion with a competitor. But, the conversation always bothered me, until years later I understood the valuable lesson about turning disappointment into career insight.
If your personal mission and values don’t align with your employer’s, it’s time to find a new employer. Had I received the promotion I deserved, I would have been miserable and faced with fundamental daily conflict. Turning disappointment into insight lead to my career growth. In the long run I benefitted.
She did me a favor by being honest telling me to go elsewhere. She cared about me as a person even though that meant losing me as a good employee.
So, Thanks TK wherever you are!
What Great Leaders Know
- Disappointment can result in career growth and turning disappointment into career insight is key.
- When your mission is at odds with your employer’s it’s time to find a new employer
- Leaders are honest and want what’s best for their people
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