Imagine your career as a boat cruise. You are constantly looking ahead to the next destination, cruising your way forward from high light to highlight at high speed, going even greater places and shining your light.
Have you ever dared to turn your head 180 degrees and take a look at what’s behind you? What do you leave in your wake? How many corpses, closets with skeletons and sacrifices have you left behind you?
This could potentially classify as an “Oh-Sh**-moment” and it takes courage and stamina to do this exercise. Below are a few questions to get your started:
- How many employees got stressed on your watch?
- How many times did you push expenses to burden the following fiscal year, knowing you might not be around to feel it?
- How many people’s careers were paused, held back or flawed because you valued your own success higher than theirs?
- How many times did you hold back information that could have helped someone out of fear that it would be bad for yourself?
- How many people resigned or were demotivated while working for you?
- How many times did you refuse to take feedback or listen to soundly given input?
Your past is in the past. Yet for some reason if we refuse to look at it, occasionally it has a tendency to repeat itself. If you have sharks and seagulls circling your wake, chances are you are leaving too many corpses behind you and it may be time to reconsider your approach. Especially as those skeletons often find a way to cross your path again. Face your wake and enjoy an even better journey.