I’ve got about three weeks to go. Unfortunately, my list of projects or things to get done seems to be growing longer, not shorter and I’m losing my motivation :-/
I think the hardest thing about leaving is resisting the urge to tell people the truth about what I think of their ideas, or their meetings, or the organization in general. Resisting that urge gets harder every day, even though I know that it would be entirely pointless. It might make me feel better to vent for a bit, but what would it accomplish? I would aggravate some people off, burn some bridges and no one would actually listen to what I was saying – no matter how well reasoned or explained.
I guess I’ve always wanted to do the whole “speak truth to power†thing. But in the end, speaking truth to power is vanity. Power is seldom interested in hearing truth. It is only interested in hearing statements supporting its ideas and positions. So, you wind up irritating a lot of people and nothing changes. Not exactly a win for anyone.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I think it will be different or better elsewhere – this feels like a universal condition. I’m just justifying to myself why I haven’t called anyone out for idiocy.
1. someone above you should be asking for your un-adorned opinion. If they are not then you know you’re leaving right organization. 🙂
2. It is not necessarily about the people in power who hear you speak the truth. Sometimes it is about the people who are around you. They need to hear it, too. Sometimes that helps them push against those in power and make a difference. If it matters, you say it and see how if it improves things.
-sv
Comment by seth vidal — July 23, 2007 @ 3:49 pm
“Aggravate someone off”? Is that gentle employee bunny speak? 😉
I totally do understand this kind of frustration, even though I’m sure I don’t understand it on the scale that you do in this particular organization. I think, to me, it also sounds a lot like burn-out for you. Speaking for myself, once I’m through with a place, I really need a fresh start, because at least if there’s still poo, it’s new poo.
I think we all need to feel like we have value, our opinions matter, and that we can affect change. So your frustration is totally valid. Healthy organizations would make sure that employees who are leaving are able to speak their minds about what they think needs to change, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a healthy organization.
Comment by etselec — July 23, 2007 @ 4:41 pm
Yeah, hard line to walk- I struggled with it at my two last jobs. Good luck biting your tongue, or not.
Comment by Luis Villa — July 23, 2007 @ 4:57 pm
thanks folks.
etselec – i did some minor edits and only partially changed that phrase. don’t you just love writing without an editor.
sv – good points. thanks
Comment by cec — July 23, 2007 @ 8:08 pm