“I’ve already thought about quitting my job three times today! And it’s only lunch!”
I received this text from Brian, a client of mine who is a product management lead in a tech company based in SF Bay Area.
When I saw Brian in our session two days later, not to my surprise, the floodgate opened immediately.
“The leadership team has been treating me unfairly! And so-called promotion path was bullsh*t. The culture in the team sucks and I’m not learning anything new in these stupid projects. But I’ve put in so much into this job that I feel so stuck!”
After he cooled down a bit, we explored deeply what these complaints really entail, the meaning of his career, and what learning and growth would look like.
“If you are not able to have all the positive things in a job, what is most important to you?”
With enough reflection, it happened that what Brian really looks for is the opportunity to lead consumer-facing AI products. Team size and promotion are nice to have, but not blockers to advance his career. Leaving his current position would still be a big loss, but now he knows exactly what he’s pursuing by giving it up.
Empowered by that clarity and resolve, Brian proceeded with switching to a new AI team within the same company, managing a smaller team but diving into a more exciting product area. It turned out to be a great move and he almost became a new person in his new job.
Don’t simply look for a new job because you’re stuck.
Get unstuck first, and then the best job will come to you.
Note: Explicit consent was given from the client to share this story, and the name and related details were altered to respect confidentiality.
