Camille Gatenby's Leaving Cisco... Why You Shouldn't Be Bummed If you Got Laid Off Last Week.............
A former boss of mine said it best: “Working for the same company for too long is like living in your parent’s basement. You can’t really say you’ve experienced real life.”
Over 12 years, Cisco gave me the foundation and relationships for which I will always be grateful. But over time, like a bad relationship that feels good for the wrong reasons- the comfort of familiarity and easiness, I felt myself getting career stagnant and letting it ride. I knew deep down I could be a better version of my professional self. Regularly occurring layoffs became wearisome and seeking greater opportunities and promotions to grow were exhausting to have to pursue. If you’ve been at Cisco for a number of years you know what I’m talking about. The decision to leave Cisco was scary and difficult. Looking back, I’m glad I left and I shouldn’t have waited so long to do it. Leaving Cisco facilitated the acceleration of my career path in a very short timeframe, (as the data in my crude but elegantly drawn graph clearly shows :)
It can’t be easy to hear that your services are no longer needed, especially if you have given your heart and soul to your work, your boss, your team and the company. But Cisco or any company does not define your value and marketability, unless you let it. Once I left Cisco I started to think of it this way: It’s like being a professional athlete and every few years, you and the team you play separately decide whether to continue the relationship. As a corporate athlete you have to believe your skills are valued in what is a highly competitive market. You don’t need to be grateful or loyal to any company just because they have employed you. It takes maintaining a head space of healthy distance between what a company means to you and what you mean to it, always. You have to periodically assess the company you work for from a third party lens to determine whether you want to keep playing for them.
Tech and the talent that fuels it is not what it was ten or even five years ago. Constant change and movement is the norm. You have to strive to keep moving with the tide, letting timing and opportunity create the next wave to push you forward. How will you do that if you stay in the same place, doing the same thing? The first time I felt a career plateau, I started my own business. The second time I felt it, I pitched a change from IT to HR. The third time I felt it, I left Cisco. Whether you’re pushed out or decide to jump from the safety nest, you are the owner and architect of your own destiny. If opportunity is not at your company, then you have to create it elsewhere for yourself. But you have to be willing to start over, put in the work and prove yourself. Make no mistake: There is no shortcut to career growth besides hard work with some timing coinciding with opportunity. There are so many great companies out there just starting to write their story. Leaving Cisco means you are now free to find your way onto the pages of an amazing story yet to be written.
A few more lessons “Leaving Cisco” taught me…
Size your move – If the role you’re currently in represents a slice to an overall process or function, a move to a smaller, younger, growth oriented company can offer the opportunity to breakout with more breadth of scope and responsibility, but on a smaller scale. It’s a good way to practice before you leap to a bigger stage.
Unlearning is a skill to be learned. Be flexible to systems, people and processes. I learned that the Cisco style of operating- how to think, act and communicate- had to be re-calibrated in my new environment.
Taking risks & being uncomfortable is the pulse of a healthy career- Being the new kid is always hard no matter how experienced you are. Humility is good for the soul and a reminder to be empathetic to those around you. Coupled with experience, this is the formula for staying relevant and change ready.
So don't just listen to what you've heard so many times. DO it: There's never been a better time to do something amazing. Tomorrow start NOW.
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leaving-ciscowhy-you-shouldnt-bummed-got-laid-off-last-gatenby