Happy Monday! After a very interesting week and weekend health-wise, I'm looking forward to a fresh start and a new week. I didn't do a coffee check-in yesterday as we went to breakfast with my dad, and on the way home, I wasn't feeling great. More periodiness, unfortunately, so I rested more and sipped on ginger ale most of the day.
I didn't stop thinking about what I wanted to write here, though. I just didn't have the energy to do it, so I did push it to the back of my mind after a bit to save for today.
So - I'm coming in hot this morning.
I've been thinking a lot about leadership and leaders. This coffee check-in title is a shoutout to one of my mentors and something I also truly believe in. If you're not leading your team or organization, you need to get out of the way. That can seem rather harsh, but through my career and experience, it would've made a big difference if those in "leadership" positions who shouldn't have been, stepped aside. Or, at the very least, took the time, energy, and effort to learn more about not only leadership, but their industry in its current and future state.
This is part of why I hesitate to jump back into the 9-5 game. Too many times, I've worked for "leaders" who I or another colleague could have done a better job at their position and as a team leader. That may be egotistical to say. But I'm OK with that because the workplaces and workforce I've experienced have been incredibly frustrating.
While many of the "leaders" I worked with got to the position they were in because "no one else wanted the job" and they stuck around long enough, or they were given opportunities because of nepotism and, as we like to say in the south, the "good 'ol boy" network, I've had to be extra innovative, strategic, and empathetic in how I work with such people. Despite that additional innovation, hard work, and relationship building, I have yet to have the chance to move up as I'd hoped in my career. So I've had to play the game while also trying to make the game better. And after being laid off at 35, I'm finally ready to take matters into my own hands.
I'm grateful to be able to work WITH leaders. Refine my skills and style, and contribute to the kind of workforce we deserve. That I hope my future kids will enjoy being a part of, rather than feeling like they're constantly fighting for the basics.
Too often, we talk about how individuals can stand in their own way, and yes, that is completely true. But why can't that apply to professionals running teams, departments, or organizations? In my most recent job, I got to create content for a university marketing to mechanical and electrical engineers, as well as operations managers and the like - something VERY different for me. It was really cool, but it was also incredibly frustrating learning about so many industries where CEOs have failed to train their successors. Now there's this seemingly infinite loop of CEOs circling around to different organizations and industries, sometimes returning to an organization to help it "get back on its feet" after they've retired or gone to work in another sector (sound familiar? Think Disney...Google, Starbucks, Reddit, Charles Schwab. These aren't small names I'm talking about). And yet, when investors, board members, and economic fluctuations occur that can impact the company, who are the first impacted? But also a shoutout to Nintendo for their CEO payout back in 2014 and their recent 10% pay raise to employees in Japan for long-term benefits. The everyday professional often waving a red flag about what they're seeing and experiencing due to decisions made by "leadership" above.
One of the things I took from my mentor with "Lead or Leave" is to be the leader I want to see and have - no matter what my title says. And if I'm not given the chance to be that leader WITH the title, I leave. Of course, I was laid off this time, but as I've mentioned in previous check-ins and posts, as much as it sucked, I knew it was the right thing for me based on the last several months and the changes the organization was going through. The stress from the previous three to four months was worse than I realized. With my Endometriosis and ADHD, that kind of stress builds up, and for me, it shows up in my body and my health. For many of us, it does. Honestly, I am no longer willing or able to deal with it the way I used to, and I genuinely believe that the stress I tried to wave off showed up in my PMDD and period symptoms. I was pretty hard on myself for that last week. But taking the time to think about it, yeah, there is more I could have done, but also, I hold our system responsible for the hamster wheel we can so easily find ourselves in. And although I'm more of a weightlifter now, if I'm running anywhere, it's outside in nature and to the beat of my own drum.
Mornings have been different this past week obviously, so not as much detail about our coffees as Chris has either gotten up early to run, or I've gotten up late from exhaustion. It'll continue to look a little different as tomorrow we fly out to Oregon, but hopefully that will also bring some exciting and fun opportunities to share some west coast coffees!
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