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People make the culture. When the people change, the culture might too.

People make the culture. When the people change, the culture might too.

Earlier this week I mentioned a client that took a lot of my time and attention and indicated I’d get back to it later. It’s later. 

For nearly two years I worked with a client, still as an outside vendor, but basically it took about 90% of my time. Fortunately our team handles so much that for a while, this was working for us. I found myself loving the culture of this organization – the people with their feet on the ground, who treated me like an internal team member, who respected my knowledge and experience. We worked well together. Things just really jelled.

There’s something to that – loving the environment in which you work. There was even a moment when I was asked to consider selling off my agency and coming to work full-time. I’ll be honest, I considered it. If ever I were going to bag it all and go work for someone else, it would have been this team, this group, this boss. In the end, I decided I love my independence too much to give it up. When you haven’t worked for anyone in two decades, it’s hard to go back. There was also a nagging feeling in the back of my head that we’re all replaceable… what if I gave up my small agency and then our team changed? Would I still be happy there? I wasn’t sure. 

Fortunately I made the decision I did. Because the team DID change. While I was on vacation this summer I learned my lead contact would be leaving the company. And in that moment, I knew I would be leaving too. 

Every company says their people are what makes them who they are. For better or worse, that’s true. 

I knew I’d leave when my lead contact left because he was who set the tone for the culture. Our meetings were fun – even the zoom meetings. We worked hard but we had a great time. And I’ll miss that. I knew immediately the new leadership just wasn’t going to be the right fit for me, though my fellow co-workers who were staying are very much missed. Maybe I’m old, maybe I’ve been doing this too long but when you know you won’t be happy, there’s just no reason to stick around.

Life’s too short to not be happy when you wake up and go to work. 

So find your happy today. Make it worth getting out of bed in the morning and stand tall knowing you protected your happiness no matter what. I wish my co-workers the best of luck. I appreciate them and the way they treated me. I hope they know I’ll have great memories of our team for a very long time. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. 

Onward! 

 

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