Are Your Goals a Treasure or a Compass?

I have a confession to make! I have coached many, many people on setting career goals, but I have always felt conflicted about the value of doing so because we live in an era when some of the top jobs didn't exist 5 years ago (from big data architect to Zumba instructor). How on earth do you create a five-year plan for your career when new jobs are emerging that no one knows about yet and when other jobs are disappearing?

I recently had a light bulb moment. Instead of thinking of our career goals as treasure chests to get, we need to start thinking of them as a compass. Instead of something we are always working towards that we will achieve someday, we need to think of our careers goals as a guide for our decision-making.

This new way of thinking has a major benefit. Instead of being constantly dissatisfied with our current state, you can suddenly enjoy exactly where you are in your career no matter where you are. Thomas Sterner, in The Practicing Mind, recounts the scene in The Natural when the main character expresses regret about what might have been if he had not been injured saying, "I coulda been better. I coulda broke every record in the book." His former girlfriend responds by saying simply, "And then?" His striving to break every record would quickly have been replaced with more striving to break the next record, and the next and the next. As Sterner says a little further on, "[high performers] idea of perfection is always moving away from them."

One way of thinking creates a state of constant dissatisfaction, frustration and striving for something that does not yet exist. The other creates a a state of present-moment awareness that creates peace and happiness. I challenge you to let go of the idea that your career goals are treasure chests for you to get and to use them as a compass to steer by instead.

Don't Leave Me This Way! Handling Resignations Gracefully

Every leader dreads the moment when an awesome employee says, "I've got a new opportunity." Your heart sinks, and you immediately start asking yourself how you and the team will handle all the work when this person is gone. Take some deep breaths, re-center yourself, and focus on two objectives: figuring out of the person can still be retained and if not, creating a transition plan.

To figure out if the person can be saved, start by asking questions and listening. Here are a few key questions to get you started:

• What made you start looking for a new opportunity?
• What about this new opportunity is attractive for you?
• Where are you in the process with the other organization?
• What would make it more attractive for you to stay here?

If you have an opportunity to change some things and save the individual, agree on what those actions are and set a date when you will meet again to confirm that these are in place and that the individual is staying.

If retaining the person is not an option, use the rest of the meeting to start planning the transition - both the communications and the logistics of the transition. During the meeting, create a communication plan that ensures people who are staying find out in an appropriate, timely fashion (definitely before the person leaves!).

Your communication plan needs to include:

• The reason you and the individual will give when announcing the resignation 
• All the individuals or groups who need to know about the departure - think about the person's immediate team, teams with whom s/he works in the company, and people outside the company
• The timing of announcements to people or groups - focus on telling those who will be most impacted first and work your way out from there
• Who will communicate the departure to each person or group on the list - depending on the person's role, this could be you, the person who is leaving, a more senior leader, or your communications team
• How the message will be communicated to each person or group - people who are most impacted and who may have a lot of questions should receive the news in person, either individually or in a meeting, while others may receive an email announcement

You may not be able to complete the communication plan in this initial meeting. If that is the case, ask the person to keep his/her resignation confidential until the plan is complete.

During this meeting, you also need to task the person with creating a draft transition plan that includes:

• List of projects with status and suggested interim owner
• List of meetings and committees s/he attends with details about dates, times and points of contact
• List of key contacts outside your company with contact information
• Approval responsibilities (for leaders)
• Key information about each team member (for leaders)

We all hate to lose a great team member, but in today's world, you want to keep the doors open. Helping the person transition out smoothly when s/he resigns does exactly that.