…but happily left a job recently. The trigger? He left work one day at his old company an hour earlier than the stipulated time.
He’d come in very early and had a jam-packed, wonderfully productive day – one of those where he barely had time for toilet breaks and a 15-minute lunch.
Somewhat brain-dead after his last meeting, he decided to leave early, recharge over dinner and continue his work at home.
His boss had seen him leave early. Later that week, HR spoke to him about respecting the office working hours.
The focus was on what he did not do (work office hours) instead of what he did do (start early, productive all day, made progress on deals).
Napolean Bonaparte said “A good leader is a dealer of hope.”
My version? “A good leader, friend, business partner etc will call out your BS, and still give you hope.”
Two practical takeaways.
- Actively seek the company of those who can see the forest in us, despite the trees.
We do best with a leader or partner who sees the best in us, inspires us to reach for the light and makes us believe in what might be – despite our imperfections.
- Leaders, whether we like it or not, this is the new norm.
If we’re a skilful enough leader, our team can occasionally leave early, or even WFH, run a mid-day errand at the supermarket and still produce the results we want.
You agree?