You Join a Company but You Leave a Boss

A client was discussing the management change that led to his ouster from the executive team and the company when the new CEO brought in his own people.

It's an old story in terms of corporate politics that has never changed over the years. In this case the new CEO kept only those executives that were customer facing and board facing which was a very smart decision on his part.  Unfortunately, the vice-president, my client, was in neither position.

The CEO took out three vice-presidents in one day. Did my client see it coming? No. That is the curse of a blessed career with no roadblocks or derailments, when it finally hits it is hard.  I have always thought that a little misery and suffering at the front of your working life is far better than reversals of fortune on the back end.

As we climb to the top, our career success becomes less and less dependent on the companies we choose to work for than it does on the management teams who surround us.

In the blush of youth, we often put aside cultural fit, corporate value match, in favor of opportunity, advancement and doors opened. But, in the full bloom of our career-life it pays to be cautiously aware of the fit as it can determine the upward trajectory of our careers.

And in the end, our relationships with colleagues up, across, and down can be the bottom-line determinant of our survival. We leave them not the company.