How I decide when to leave or stay in a job

How I decide when to leave or stay in a jobHow I decide when to leave or stay in a jobThis post welches originally posted on May 2nd, atVessyTash.com.Vessy, why dont you interview the founders? asked my friend Velina Getova on the phone.I welches at the end of the hiring process with and asked herbei for her experience working with its founders as advisor of the startup over the brde couple of years.During the last 10 years, Velina and I had many experiences together. We studied at the same university. We were both part of the university radio station. One point we also worked in the same tech company back in Bulgaria.We are quite different as individuals. Yet, we share the same values.When I asked her for advice, I knew I could trust her opinion on whether I was a good culture fit for , and vice versa.Ask them everything youd like to know about the company - vision, strategy, culture, product, team, your role and expectations from you.. she added. At the end of an interview you ca n only ask a handful of question. If you request to interview them, you will be able to ask all your questions and evaluate the opportunity in depth.I followed her advice. I requested 30min interview with each of the founders and got them3 of the questions I asked them and why it was important for me to knowthatWhat are you struggling with?That would allow me to understand if they are aware of their weaknesses and problems.Why do you think you need me?That would help me understand what they expect from me, where they expect impact from me that was to help me re-adjust my own expectations, if needed, in regards to quality of work, work styles, values, etc.How well do you think youre doing with X?Id pick an area that I thought they were notlage doing well (that they hadnt mentioned), so I could give them negative feedback to observe how they deal with it.What stood out convinced me to move to the newjobActually collaborative environmentthey were happy to hear that I disagreed with th em. We wouldnt have been able to discuss things or collaborate, if they were unhappy that I voice my opinions.Authentic communicationfirst, they were happy to be interviewed by me. But mora importantly they were comfortable to say what they know and dont know. They didnt pretend.Working as equalsthey valued my expertise and saw it as an opportunity to learn from me. That meant we could learn from each other.(I joined in September 2016. Velina Getova joined us as a COO about a year later.)I believe that those 3 things allowed me to flourish at . Ive been feeling valued and appreciated from day one until now. The founders trust me. The autonomy empowers me to bring and pursuit risky, courageous ideas.That engaged me 100%. I originally joined as Director of Strategy. Only 4 months into joining them, they promoted me to Chief Strategy Officer.And recently, they asked me to become CMO. That meant giving me the responsibility to manage the biggest team and budget in the company.Over the last 9 years, I have worked in 5 organizations, and reported to over 15 founders, C-level executives, managers, and directors.Thats how I realized what I value/dislike in a leader or an organization, and what keeps me on a job or pushes me to make a change. I call them forces and I have identified 7 that impact me. They are quite individual so yours could be similar to mine or completely different.7 forces that always help me decide whether to leave or stay in ajob(not necessarily in order of importance)1 IMPACT ACCOUNTABILITYI stay whenI feel that I make an impact on the bottom line - e.g. being responsible for 1/3 of the deliverables to our clients.I deliver something of actual value to real, ordinary people who struggle, not just cold, rich corporations - its with empathy for the customer.The company and I deliver things that are meaningful for the team and the customers and related to my purpose.Through my role at and through my Medium posts, I help people remember what they enjoy and encourage them to combine it with what they are good at. This journey eventually leads them to getting a job that brings happiness, satisfaction, and meaning to their life, and thus, to mine, too.I leave whenthe organization lacks empathy, decisions are purely business-driven, and at the expense of people.I feel insignificant or my role has a minor impact on big company decisions and/or bottom line,the people around me fail to deliver what they have promised.2 AUTONOMYI stay whenI feel trusted,I have the freedom to decide what to work on that allows me to have the biggest impact.I leave whenI sense a lack of trust towards me or a colleague,Im micromanaged, bullied, controlled, policed, or given orders.A manager in a previous company commented on me coming in 5min late for a meeting. That was inappropriate and I felt policed, as Id often get up for calls at 6am with Australia, which would stretch my work day to 12 hours.3 LEARNING CHALLENGINGI stay whenI see that the comp any is willing to invest in me to learn,I feel that my natural curiosity to learn, experiment, figure things out, ask questions is appreciatedI am challenged in a healthy manner and with good intentionsA company had dedicated a significant budget to invest in my training and development. When I brought proposals, they found them too expensive. I started questioning if the budget was meant to be spent or just added to make the package attractive. So while that was something that was originally keeping me to stay, it flipped into a reason to leave..I leave whenI dont think I learn (enough) new things anymore,Im punished for asking questions.Once I asked the team lead in a previous company of mine what the strategy is. They told me to focus on my project and leave the more senior and knowledgeable people worry about strategy.4 QUALITY OF PEOPLE, PRODUCT, WORK CONDITIONSI stay wheneverything we create is well done - this brings me so much joyI work with people who share my desire for quality, enjoy working hard, who inspire me with their big ideas and a small ego, and who I can learn from,I am rewarded with a fair, competitive pay. Although money is not my main driver, it signals if Im being appreciated and valued, or just taken advantage of. Same for benefits and schreibstube space.I leave whenpeople dont care about quality, leave things unfinished, or say its someone elses responsibility,I feel manipulated in a pay raise/promotion conversation.A company I used to work for lost one of its clients. I saw it as a failure of the leadership to recognize this in advance, as the 2-year contract was coming to an end. Everyones salary was decreased by 1020%. The leadership punished its employees for something they didnt overlook. Also, I felt manipulated when new clients were attracted, the pay wasnt restored.5 ENVIRONMENT CARE, HELP, SUPPORTI stay whenwe, as colleagues, genuinely help each other with personal and professional struggles, regardless of senioritywe give each other guidance and feedback, regardless of seniorityTatiana, our PR, has seen me at my lowest point - in the very moment my heart got broken. She listened to me, she helped me deal with the anger, the disappointment, and the grief. She encouraged me to listen, to ask questions, rather than blame. That helped me be a better person and eventually have a smooth separation, rather than a bad and ugly breakup.I leave whenthe employer-employee relationship is a one-way street and bluntly transactionalcolleagues treat each other as a means to an end to achieve a goalthe employer expects you to put work as 1 priority and to be available almost 24/76 AUTHENTIC, TRANSPARENT COMMUNICATION = STRONG LEADERSHIPI stay whenI see that people in the company feel comfortable to speak up challengeI feel valued, listened to, accepted for who I am as an individualI can learn from the leadership and they inspire me to learn from themI can feel that the leadership believes in me and respects how I feelI leave whenthe leadership operates through fear, bullying, authoritative micromanagement, directives,the leadership intentionally makes you feel replaceable or belittles youthe leaders lack courage, character, and presencethe leaders are associated with ambiguity rather than authenticity, clarity, and transparency.I was deeply disappointed by an action of a former employer. I addressed it. They dealt with the situation in a cold, distant manner. I experienced the opposite of authenticity and that was a deal breaker. The trust was lost. Instead, I was asked to put a smile on my face and get back to work. Business always came first, never the people. Im pretty sure I went through each of those5 stages.7 PRIDEI stay whenI feel proud of the place where I work. E.g. because its promising, with potential, prestigious, known for the high quality of its products and talent, and/or gives me international exposure.I can wholeheartedly recommend the company to employees and customers.I le ave whenI am ashamed, embarrassed or disappointed by the companys ethics and values.I am disappointed by the lack of interest in a certain company or public issues.A company I used to work for failed to show their support for LGBT employees in a country thats predominantly homophobic. That was addressed by current and past employees, both straight and gay. The PRs ignored it. Employees brought it to the leadership and they made promises. No actions were taken and that resulted in some gay employees leaving the company. Others remained in the closet.When do Ileave?We dont think about it as a formula, but heres what our brain keeps recalculating - Graph The 4 forces according to Jobs-To-Be-Done methodology, applied to change ajobThe blackare the push forces that make the new job more attractive to meproblems with the current job (reasons I would leave)the attraction of the new job (reasons I would join)The blue are the pull forces that make me stay in my current jobexisting habits (re asons I would stay)anxieties uncertainties related to change - mostly fears of failure and what ifs, such as what if my boss is an asshole?Each force has a different magnitude. And its magnitude is not static. It can grow over time.For example, pay can be acceptable today, you tolerate it, its okay that they passed you for a pay raise this quarter. But next quarter you are pissed off. You are more ready to leave.Forces vs Pros ConsThe forces are more than just pros and cons.For example, a fancy office is a pro, but it doesnt act as a force for me.To identify your forces, listen to your inner voice and put things down.Its super individual.Quick exercise How to identify the forces that impact your decision?(Takes 15min)Draw a timeline to mark all your previous jobs on it chronologically.Under each job put down what kept you there and what made you eventually leave. Thats how you extract the forces.Use the graph from earlier and write down the forces in the respective sectionE.g. If you have listed earlier that the quality of the product is important for you and the product of your current company is mediocre, then put down mediocre product under Problems with a current job.It should look something like this - Graph The 4 forces with examples and scores about their magnitude4. Score each force (5 points are max, 1 is min)E.g. If the quality of the product is not just something you factor in, but quite important for you, then you should score it as a 4, maybe even a 5. So next to mediocre product write down4.5. Calculate the balanceIn the example above the balance would be4+5+2+2 = 13 points - thats the magnitude of the forces pushing you towards the new job.2+3+2+2 = 9points - thats the magnitude of the forces pushing you towards staying in your current job.Balance 139 =+4The balance in this example is significantly positive and that means the new job in that context looks extremely attractive.2 things to remember aboutforcesThe forces and their magnitude are strictly individual. Whats critical for me, might not be important for you atall.The magnitude of a force changes over time. For example, as a young professional, I didnt care about health benefits as much as I do now that Im in my30s.Hope you find it useful to figure out if to stay or leave your jobIf you are having a trouble calculating your balance,reach out to me on Facebook.P. S. Heres somequestions you can ask when you interview a CEO/Founder, a fantastic article byClaire Lew.Know someone who keeps telling you how unhappy they are in theirjob?SEND THEM THISARTICLE.