I had decided to switch my company in late 2009 after the evolution of a couple of new policies on promotions and role change. And I made a lot of noise of dissatisfaction, but nothing helped me out, so I looked for other options. I got a couple of job offers and finally resigned in November 2009. I almost packed my bags and was ready to head for Bangalore in December 2009. A couple of weeks after my resignation, I had a meeting (kind of exit interview) with my manager, and I still remember what he said.
He started saying, “You are afraid!”.
“What… Why should I?”
“You don’t have the courage to face the situation; you are afraid of the situation and want to run away!”
“I am not afraid. I want to leave this company, and I am getting a better package and designation somewhere else.”
“People who are afraid are the ones to run away, look for other options, and they are not the ones who are ready to accept any change. Are you ready to build rapport, making connections, relations, and contacts from scratch in the other company? I bet you can’t as you are afraid, and you are running from a change.”
“Stop saying that… I am not afraid. I am just not feeling good compared to my friends, and I want my self-respect, and I am fine if I need to build everything from scratch. I came to this company from another company and built everything on my own here, and I can do it again.”
“If you always work on the foundations, when you would put your pillars and build a multi-storied building?”
“Well… I don’t need a multi-storied building. I am happy with a single-storied building and don’t mind putting the foundation once again.”
“If you are happy in a single-storied building, why this company is such a bad place for you? When we face any difficulty, we tend to leave/break bonds with people and situations. We always do. But, if you think once and pause and think once again – ‘Can I break this habit of running away? Can I try once more? Can I change myself instead of changing my job? Can I pursue more excellence? Can I wait for a permanent change rather than making small jumps every day?’ ”
I could not say anything, did not leave and still with my company!
There are two morals of the above story.
One – If we are in the habit of leaving and look for other options in case of any discomfort, then every time we face any issues, we would tend to escape rather than facing them. And, we can never gain the power of winning over the odds.
Two – A manager always fools you 🙂
Note to my readers: I wrote this article when I was not a manager 🙂
