Cowboy Caleb the liberal arts, grown-up stuff & random mischief

Mediocre = Less Liability

Things have been unstable lately and a leader taking the last parachute on a plane with engine trouble doesn’t exactly spell good things.

Today, I had a very interesting discussion that lead to an epiphany of sorts. The topic of “would you quit now if somebody offered you a better job” came about because one of our directors left recently taking the last parachute with her.

Simply imagining your company as a plane with engine trouble creates a metaphor that forces you to consider “What happens after I leave?”. So take the following scenarios.

Manager A resigns

• Nobody to sign the expense claims of his team.

Manager B resigns

• Nobody to sign the expense claims of his team.
• Team is demoralized

Manager C resigns

• Team members demoralized because they truly liked him
• Team members demoralized because they worked like dogs under him willingly
• Team members start resigning because without leadership, things fall apart
• Daily operations become difficult because of lost tacit knowledge

Manager A can simply resign. Nobody will even realize that he’s gone.

Manager B can resign and be missed for a little while, but the employees will get over it and carry on without him.

Manager C however creates a ripple effect all the way down the foodchain. Not only will the employees be demoralized, they get scared because in the creation of a leadership void - they will resign as well. The loss of employees lead to the loss of tacit knowledge which lead to all sorts of daily operational issues.

So now the question is this. While Manager A would probably not be an asset to the company, Manager C would probably be an asset but a huge liability when he leaves.

So the mediocre Manager B seems to be the best option…

Oh shite!

this post came at a good time. lol.

and you can’t exactly up your job and leave due to numerous commitments right.

Sir, look after yourself and your family first. The company will survive without you (sorry but that is the truth). If you find a better job (you define what that means), then I would recommend you consider it seriously. Your skill level and experience will be very much valued in the marketplace if it is NOT within your current company. My opinion speaking from experience!