> Resignations happen in a moment, and it’s not when you declare, “I’m resigning.” The moment happened a long time ago when you received a random email from a good friend who asked, “I know you’re really happy with your current gig because you’ve been raving about it for a year, but would you like to come visit Our Company? No commitment. Just coffee.” ... Your shields are officially down.
> Your shields drop the moment you let a glimpse of a potential different future into your mind. It seems like a unconsidered off-the-cuff thought sans consequence, but the thought opens you to possibilities that did not exist the moment before the thought existed.
> Every moment as a leader is an opportunity to either strengthen or weaken shields. Every single moment.
As a CTO of a young company, I start many mornings thinking about my team's shields. Am I asking them to focus on projects or parts of the stack they don't find interesting, or being less proactive than I should be in unblocking their needs? And most importantly, am I staying true to our values and providing them the transparency they need? Because if we get to the point where the OP article is, where team members want to find a different team, there is no other tech team they can transfer to, so their shields being down becomes a critical vulnerability! There's a balance, of course, and some weeks are just too chaotic to be perfect at this, but I try as much as I can. I like to think that this is also the type of environment that makes people the most creative they can be - it's a win-win for everyone.
Oof, from just reading this I felt my shield start to drop.
I wonder how much the present work-from-home situation has insulated people from this, as people can't just be invited to check out a company when the company is remote.
Nowadays you don't even need a physical visit to get your shield down. Your friend (or their coworker) can share a story on Twitter/blog and piqued your interest. You crosscheck to your trusted friend and it sounds much better than where you are right now. And the story continues the same.
I changed jobs during the pandemic. Without the gloss of the office with free snacks and cool techie coworkers, I couldn't stay focused on the turds I was being asked to polish and repolish. It was the easiest job decision I ever made.
> Resignations happen in a moment, and it’s not when you declare, “I’m resigning.” The moment happened a long time ago when you received a random email from a good friend who asked, “I know you’re really happy with your current gig because you’ve been raving about it for a year, but would you like to come visit Our Company? No commitment. Just coffee.” ... Your shields are officially down.
> Your shields drop the moment you let a glimpse of a potential different future into your mind. It seems like a unconsidered off-the-cuff thought sans consequence, but the thought opens you to possibilities that did not exist the moment before the thought existed.
> Every moment as a leader is an opportunity to either strengthen or weaken shields. Every single moment.
As a CTO of a young company, I start many mornings thinking about my team's shields. Am I asking them to focus on projects or parts of the stack they don't find interesting, or being less proactive than I should be in unblocking their needs? And most importantly, am I staying true to our values and providing them the transparency they need? Because if we get to the point where the OP article is, where team members want to find a different team, there is no other tech team they can transfer to, so their shields being down becomes a critical vulnerability! There's a balance, of course, and some weeks are just too chaotic to be perfect at this, but I try as much as I can. I like to think that this is also the type of environment that makes people the most creative they can be - it's a win-win for everyone.