Anyway, here's a note I gave my boss, responding to his request that I explain why I'm quitting. Yes, quitting.
Introduction
The following outlines the reasons for my decision to leave this agency. It addresses my own decision-making process, which entailed answering the following four questions:
1. Why Leave?
2. Why Stay?
3. Why Reject the larger agency?
4. Why Embrace the larger agency?
As a result of answering these four questions, I rested on the conclusion that I must take the larger agency offer, and begin working with them as soon as mutually agreeable.
Why leave?
Stifling personal / professional environment – we have spoken many times about the agency president’s treatment of the staff. His many traits - anger; publicly negative statements about people who aren’t in the room; irrational and impulsive behavior; as well as his lack of accountability to overarching rules - are all easy and appropriate targets for criticism. There are, however, other reasons that I felt stifled.
Working as hard as I did, it was very disappointing, even demoralizing, to see senior staff complain about this agency while essentially hiding from the agency president. Together the partnership could have presented their business case for what this agency could be operationally and in the marketplace. They could have buttressed any emotional criticism with consistency and objectivity. Instead, they allowed the agency president’s antics to go unchecked, and this environment to remain unhealthy.
The only conclusion I could draw: I’m all alone in this hostile environment, I’d better rely only on myself and overcome any and all obstacles in order to succeed.
Leadership issues – We’ve often talked about the lack of leadership at this agency. We’ve agreed that there was no vision, no accountability, no sustainable systems, no empowered corporate culture, and because of the autocratic approach, no hope for change. No one here – including the agency president – appears to be seeing this business as a whole, and following through with the plans and infrastructure to support sustained growth. We’ve both heard The agency president say he hates change. (He just said it again as I was typing this!) The partners of this company allowed The agency president to be The agency president. The partners did not optimize this business or incorporate best practices in finance, management, operations, or marketing. In that leadership environment, it’s hard to be a follower.
Losing motivation - initially, I had great motivation to win the power struggle that occurred between me and The agency president. I set myself in motion to absolutely positively let NOTHING get in the way of getting control of my accounts and my schedule. I put my marriage and friendships at risk, but I gained that necessary control, while learning the online space.
My next motivation was to grow my accounts – and get new ones, so my efforts would be financially rewarded. As a result of my initiation, we won five major, national accounts. And, I upsold all those accounts to increase our revenue, and my resulting commissions. Month over month, quarter over quarter, revenues from my accounts continue to grow.
My third motivation was to gain more authority and responsibility by getting a director-level position, taking on more business (within my team), and developing new products and services. In order to make this happen, I needed the support of the agency president and the partners, so that our goals and aspirations would all be in alignment. I bungled my approach in asking that the partners hire an executive coach to strengthen their team and resolve the dysfunction that every single person agreed was taking place. I was told my ‘account optimization’ was at least 18 months away. I’ve seen repeated attempts to pull my account coordinator from me, instead of hire more staff to support my successful, tiered approach.
We are not in alignment. As I increased my focus and ambition to contribute more and take on more, I was met with increasing inertia. With a baby on the way, and a renewed focus in my life’s priorities (wellness, marriage, family) I saw very little hope for the future.
Why stay?
Safe, predictable – This agency has much to offer. I’m compensated for bringing in new accounts, and my income grew greatly as a result. There’s much discussion about providing me with equity. I am respected by people here. I have great flexibility in my approach to work and guiding the client’s programs. The clients respect me also. I have great report with them, and with their collaboration, I’ve been able to achieve some pretty impressive results.
When I show up to work, I may not know what’s in my In-Box, but I’m typically not surprised. I’ve been able to respond to internal and external pressures for the greater good of the client and the agency, and I don’t see any reason that would change, whatsoever.
This is minor – but the fact that the agency is close to home is a comfort as well.
Personal connections – I truly enjoy working and hanging out with the people here. Despite varied levels of wackiness, everyone is essentially a good person and we do a good job of covering each other when there’s a screw-up or issue.
Vast agency potential – Whether this agency is acquired or it continues to grow organically, the agency’s embrace of ROI measurement and its positioning of the ‘ideal user experience’ as one of its core values all strongly indicate a prosperous future for the agency and its employees.
Why embrace the larger agency?
More resources, bigger profile, bigger clients – Obviously, a larger agency has …more. More resources, more history, more best practices, more people to learn from, more money, more clients, and, unsurprisingly, more opportunity for me. Just comparing the sizes of the staff population, the larger agency is 20 times larger than This agency. The vast majority of their clients have strong brand recognition. The exposure to such an environment would do wonders for my resume, marketing experience, and something much more dear to me: my leadership development.
Leadership Development – As you know, I’ve been working with an executive coach during the past few months. My program with him started with an honest assessment from my peers, superiors and subordinates. It was eye-opening. Actually, it was shocking. The results were like an x-ray of my work behavior, and I saw a reactive, egotistical, fearful person.
Naturally, that is the furthest from who I want to be – or who I’ve been. Somehow along the way, I gave myself the permission to retreat into some very short-sighted behavior.
Next, my coach followed up with a series of other tests which assessed my psychological profile, values, and skill sets. A more complete picture of myself became apparent: I had great potential, but I was stuck in a defensive posture. Over the next few months we worked closely together to “re-tool” my approach to work. Along the way, I’d learned that I was a workaholic, using the job to avoid personal feelings, so I learned a very effective approach to time management. I also learned how to communicate when the stakes were high and the parties involved were at odds with one another.
In short order, I tightened up my approach to work and began to add a new layer of strategic thinking to my accounts. My account coordinator became my protégé instead of another worker, and together we increased our output of client deliverables and information. In a matter of a few weeks, my role with my clients shifted from reactionary to visionary. My clients could look to my leadership – not just my responsiveness – as a resource.
And then I was introduced to a series of best practices and social theory that helped me to see things in a much broader, more productive context.
I was introduced to Spiral Dynamics. http://www.wie.org/spiral/ “Spiral Dynamics is a powerful model and predictive theory of human development and cultural evolution. (It) has been successfully employed around the globe for conceiving and implementing real-world integral solutions to social conflicts and for catalyzing individual evolutionary transformation.” I figured that if this resource helped South Africa deal with its fractious bigotry, it could probably help me bring my habits and decision-making into balance as well. Again, my coach and I worked together to bring this thinking into to daily practice. He’s said that he’s never seen growth as productive as mine, and relates that to my potential that was identified in my tests.
As this transformation was taking place, I began talking with the larger agency. Through my discussions with them, it became clear that they wanted a broad perspective. A strategic thinker who can lead clients and mentor staff. What a sharp contrast to this agency. At The larger agency, I have a home for the new skills and perspectives that I’ve developed. And, while those skills will certainly be challenged, the expectation is that I will be a leader. By contrast, This agency seems to want me to remain an individual contributor. That’s been the prevailing pattern anyway.
A quick survey of the agency landscape presented me with one agency that was too much of a creative shop, another that has too much of a revolving door, and a third about which I have no real opinion. The third didn’t seem worth pursuing at this point, given that the larger agency was actually seeking me out.
Why not the larger agency?
Hostile or Chaotic Environment – Large agencies have a reputation for eating their young. Back-stabbing and competitiveness can chew a person up and spit them out. Even for the most minor infractions. That’s what I’ve heard, anyway, and it’s probably true to some degree. One of their employees has already mentioned how much gossip goes around at the agency. Typically, the larger the organization, the larger the politics.
Too challenging, professionally – Frankly, this could not work out. Their expectations of me could be unrealistic. They could be terrible leaders. They could change their approach and wack the whole interactive department. It wouldn’t be the first time.
Too challenging, personally – Another risk, is that the larger agency could demand such a contribution from me that I would be once again jeopardizing my values and my health.
The final synopsis: Take the position. Now.
While this move has many risks associated with it, it also has much more potential. I have an opportunity to bring what I love about myself - both personally and professionally – to the table every day. I’ll have a team, and a greater agency environment, that are heavily invested in my success as a leader. I have an opportunity to pursue the next level in my personal development: enlightenment.
As you can see by the following pages, there are two mutually-exclusive views presented. The Ego and Evolutionary Enlightenment. As part of my work with my coach, it became clear that I had been missing out. By playing it safe, I wasn’t tapping into my full potential as person, let alone as a husband and probably as a father. We live in a time when all the knowledge, all the connections, all the world’s potential is being chronicled. The best of the best practices are being discussed and I wasn’t a part of the conversation.
Why?
I’ve allowed myself to embrace the aspects of the ego and essentially lead a self-involved life. That may have been fine until now, but I have a daughter on the way, we both know she will be 100% dependant on MY EXAMPLE. My future staff will be watching my example. My wife and family are watching, too.
Choosing the The larger agency position, as mixed an opportunity such as it is, present an opportunity to evolve – and to tap into incredibly powerful resources. Look at the two circle charts and ask yourself: which one is this agency? Which one do I want to embrace?*
Should you be interested, I’ve also included a whitepaper on Spiral Dynamics.
(*IF it were clear that I could evolve here, I might have a different opinion about my decision.)
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