Jason Buffington .com

transcript

I’ve talked before about how I believe by your third year doing a role, you probably want to look for the next adventure – hopefully within the same organization, so you can leverage what you know about the culture, the relationships, the offerings. 

• First year, you’re learning
• Second year, you’re doing
• Third year, you’ve made it your own.  

Maybe that goes faster or shorter – but how do you know?  

Here’s three questions (in priority order) that I’ve offered to colleagues, mentees, and anyone else who’s asked:

1. Do you enjoy the majority of interactions that you have with those you work with most?   Life is too short and work is hard enough without drama.  You don’t have to be best buddies with your teammates.  But in general, do you have a positive or negative sense about your most frequent interactions.  If you get a “no” on this one, nothing else really matters.

• Do you have room to grow?  That might be promotions vs. a ceiling. That might be areas to stretch yourself or gain new experiences laterally.  You have to decide what ‘growth’ looks like for you, but if you don’t see anything up or sideways – then you’ve plateaued.  I’ve known some folks that answered “I’m not growing at work, but the stability has enabled me to grow in life, like being a new parent.”  That’s awesome; there are seasons for everything.  That said, if you aren’t growing or see that potential (somewhere in your world), think about what you want to change.

• Do you believe in where the organization is going?  Y’all are on the same bus and that bus is going somewhere.  Maybe it’s to become the industry-leading (something).  Maybe it’s to improve the world through its culture, volunteerism, influence, whatever. Maybe it’s simply to ensure every employee family can pay its bills. Whatever it is, do you feel good about it?  If not, why not?  If so, great.

Three yes’es = means you are in a good spot for you.  No workplace, club, or church is perfect.  But if you can find three yes’es, then you are doing really well – probably better than many.  If not, depending on which one, maybe it’s time to explore your next chapter; hopefully in the same org.

Those are the measures that I use to validate if I’m where I want to be.  For those that are curious, I am three yes’es and spinning up my third chapter with my current employer of 7 years.  Try these questions – or add one in the comments below.  How do you know that you’re in the right spot for you?  

See you next Monday