In-balance or Imbalance?

The deadline is fast approaching for the final manuscript of Corporate Escapology – December 11th is looming.  I’m literally poring over every word, reading them aloud, trying to hear how I sound (friendly and supportive but like I know what I’m talking about).

I think it’s good. 

And this week one of my beta readers said she did too.  In fact she wrote the first review for Amazon:

“A tour de force!  A must-read for anyone working in a corporate with a desire to leave.  This book provides all of the tips and guidance to make the jump as smooth as possible.  Pragmatic and insightful.  A thoroughly enjoyable and informative read.”

She’s a lawyer so she must be right.  She’s also given me some very wise, lawyerly advice and feedback too. She even printed it out. There were ticks on the manuscript. 

She loved the exercises in the book “That’s what’s made it most practical”.  I got a few ticks for those.

One of the exercises tries to help a reader evaluate whether they Get more than they Give to their corporate job.  There’s an equation: if Get >= Give, we’ll stay, if not we’ll leave (in mind if not body).

Get is salary and bonus, as well as development opportunities.  Give is your effort, skills and knowledge, as well as what you’re giving up (time with family, opportunity costs etc).

Right before I left bp I was at my most motivated.  I had this great job, helping to set up an independent venture-builder to grow low carbon businesses.

I had never worked as hard as I worked in that job.  I was literally living my best life.  I became an incredible team-player (something I never thought I’d be).  I had purpose and a sense of mission (something I’d never felt before).  And I had enormous variety (not something I’d really known for the previous 10 years).

It was a case of Get = Give and it felt great.

Until I got my annual performance review.  I’ve banged on about this before, so I won’t now.  But it wasn’t good, it was average.

A real kick in the teeth.

Unbeknown to me ‘External Validation’ was hiding in the Get side of the equation.  And it was missing.

It was a hygiene factor.

Like the salary. It had little power to motivate, but a disproportionate power to de-motivate.

It was a defining moment and I left my job soon after.

For many of the clients I coach, I recognise their similar defining moments.  They’re often inconsequential for the corporate (and even the line manager) but hugely important for the individual:

One was asked to mentor a new hire that had been recruited into the job they thought they were lined up for.

Another was told they wouldn’t get a bonus that year because they had taken off six weeks earlier to look after a sick wife.

A third was told that owing to environmental pressures no one would get a pay rise, to find out later that some people did.

All of a sudden, Get < Give.  With consequences that surprise leaders from otherwise motivated people: bad behaviour, working to rule, resignations.

It’s actually pretty challenging to motivate experienced people within a big company.  The company runs out of reward levers: there are only so many rungs available for promotion (and the gaps between grades become bigger), there are only so many development opportunities for people at a certain level and an above-inflation pay rise for those on higher pay really eats into the team salary pot.

Fortunately for corporates, over time more experienced people begin to crave different rewards than earlier in their career.  And while the hygiene factors remain important, different factors can be decisive in balancing the equation e.g.:

Flexibility over where, when and even with whom we work. One of my clients resigned this week because three days a week in the office had become mandatory, even though the company had explicitly agreed it would not when she took the job.

More enlightened reward options – an interesting project, an expat assignment or some kind of formal, public recognition might hold more attraction than a salary uplift or cash bonus.

Going easy if we’re struggling with something or someone at home – memories of benevolent employers tend to endure long after the event itself.

Tolerance and celebration of people’s differences and a genuine commitment to inclusion and equity.

In short, culture takes on a more important role in determining whether we’re in balance or imbalanced and whether we’re getting as much as we’re giving: Is this a place that I want to work?  Is it somewhere I can thrive?  Can I be myself here?  Does this place represent the real me?

When culture fails in some way, it provokes less sudden, swift reactions from staff than hygiene factor failures, but its impact can be just as devastating.  It affects trust in the relationship with the individual and because it’s often very public, it affects, and influences, others too.

Culture is often the real reason people want to escape their corporate job.

With the holiday season approaching, you might be wondering if you want to be in the same place this time next year. Maybe the culture isn’t right, maybe you’re giving more than your getting, maybe you’re plateauing.

If I can help, you know where I am. Message me, follow me on Instagram, watch/listen to the podcasts or you could join my course - it’s only £20, and has pretty good feedback.