Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its brevity.
~Jean de La Bruyère, French Philosopher
Our newest VIM Executive Coaching client, fit into the age category of being at the uppermost end of the Millennial age range, almost Gen-X; certainly not “ancient” by any means, but not a youngster either.
Her specialty was in the rather fast-paced field of software marketing and her company was “in trouble.”
Naturally, the poor sales numbers were, in part, blamed on the marketing department who should have seen things coming. For a while, she was the head of that department and it didn’t take much in the way of logical deduction to know the object of the responsibility for failures was placed on her shoulders.
She cautiously explained that when she was hired, the company was poised for explosive growth. She was selected to head the department when she was in her later 30s and by all accounts, she was touted as a superstar. In fact, it was not her first software marketing position, but her third.
For a few years following her hiring, she could seemingly do no wrong. Her ideas, creativity, attitude and “vision” were celebrated – and she reaped the benefits. Salary and benefits increased, as did calls and emails from several executive recruiters.
The pandemic hit, competitive products emerged, there was turnover and changes within the industry in terms of insurance, reimbursement and growth itself.
“I see the future,” she unhappily confided, “and it doesn’t look good for us. Though they pay me a great salary, the pressure on me to produce and to come up with new ideas increases with every passing day. I need to figure something out. I’m not worried. I don’t know exactly what, but we’ll figure something out.”
Pointing fingers
The company, losing both revenues and market share, gave her no mercy. Curiously, she was hesitant to do much about it. She was content to stay on for a while and kept repeating “I hope that we can find a way to reach new channels and opportunities. I have faith we can.”
Is that the best strategy?
“It’s also not a good time. I decided to wait a while, plan my girlfriend’s wedding, return to Pilates and go on a riverboat cruise where the vibes are less intense.” She added: “I need a break. If something goes wrong, I’m only 44, something will turn up. It always does.”
VIM Executive Coaching meets clients where they are, not where we think they should be. So, while we welcomed her into the coaching fold, we were skeptical of her strategy. As a wise, business school professor of ours once suggested, “Doing nothing is still a strategy.”
Eventually, the worst of the finger pointing will be hers. Time is a tricky and (can be) a cruel teacher. We believe she wanted coaching because deep down she understood that 44 quickly turns to 50. Leadership perceptions rapidly change.
Unfortunately, strategizing a plan based on “something turning up,” is still doing nothing. Worst of all, it is the opposite of mindfulness, of not being in the moment, of being unaware of what is occurring.
She went on the cruise and had a great time. No, she wasn’t terminated nor did anyone in management say anything (directly) worrisome. However, her department was rolled into sales, she gained a new boss and there were not-so-subtle shifts in the way others in the organization perceived her.
She has come to realize that future successes are not guaranteed, mindfulness training is important and that the time for executive leadership success is unbelievably brief. She has gotten far more serious about her next career step.