People leaving is a normal occurrence in the journey of any organization. In my 17-year career, I have seen many people leave Dream a Dream – some have left with pride, friendships, love and camaraderie and others have left with grudges, disappointment and anger. It doesn’t matter that people leave, that is part of life. What matters is how they leave?
Recently, we had someone leave Dream a Dream after a short-stint of one year. We were sad to let this person go. In just a year, this person had won our hearts with his humility, work ethic and commitment. He got a much better opportunity and we were delighted for him while we were sad to see him go.
However, one thing struck me about his exit and it was the way he left the organization. For me, it was one of the most remarkable transitions and exits I have ever come across. Here are a few things he did, that won my heart.
1. While, he had a compelling offer and they needed him to join at the earliest, he negotiated that he can only join after 3 months. The notice period in our offer letter stated only one month.
2. He knew he had made certain commitments to the organization and to our external stakeholders and he wanted to make sure he met those commitments before he exited.
3. He wanted to give the organization sufficient time to find a replacement for his role. He knew that it’s difficult to find people for senior roles and more so, in his very niche area.
4. He wanted to make sure he does a thorough and complete transition to the new person while he was still around.
5. He put together a comprehensive transition plan that covered all critical aspects that would help a new person hit the road running from Day one.
6. He made a master document outlining his directory structure, key relationships and status with each of them and finally a list of key tasks that require attention.
7. He ensured he reworked his folder / filing structure including renaming files to make it easy for the new person to find documents. He invested time in cleaning up his folders.
8. He ensured there was active communication with all external stakeholders and managed any anxieties that might arise with pending timelines.
Finally, he ensured that the universe of relationships he built at Dream a Dream were kept intact and everyone would remember him for the remarkable colleague, friend and human being that he is.
Through this transition, I wondered why he invested as much time and effort and the question I asked myself is ‘Why was it important for him? Why is it important to transition well out of an organization?’
Transitions leave an impact on the organization. Work gets impacted for a certain time period till it picks up again. Sometimes, it puts pressure on the system and is a cause for stress, especially in small organizations. The burden moves to others in the team and it affects their ability to be productive.
In the way that this person planned and executed his transition, I learnt that it’s important to leave with your head held high. Leave without burdening the organization to manage and figure things out after you are gone. Leave knowing that your hard work will bear fruit and will be continued as you had planned and for that is important to plan your exit, prepare for your transition and invest in making it thorough. It’s important to take pride in the work that you have done and that pride ensures you plan and execute a thorough transition.
Moreover, in our time with organizations we build and nurture relationships, we make friends and it’s important to keep the connections intact. A half-hearted transition could, in a moment, undo the hard work and credibility you have built in your time here.
Something we all have to think about is, ‘what and how do you want to be remembered when you are gone? What is the legacy you want to leave behind?’
Mahesh Chandrasekar, you have set new benchmarks at Dream a Dream for transitions and exits and you will always be remembered for your amazing work ethic.
Recently, we had someone leave Dream a Dream after a short-stint of one year. We were sad to let this person go. In just a year, this person had won our hearts with his humility, work ethic and commitment. He got a much better opportunity and we were delighted for him while we were sad to see him go.
However, one thing struck me about his exit and it was the way he left the organization. For me, it was one of the most remarkable transitions and exits I have ever come across. Here are a few things he did, that won my heart.
1. While, he had a compelling offer and they needed him to join at the earliest, he negotiated that he can only join after 3 months. The notice period in our offer letter stated only one month.
2. He knew he had made certain commitments to the organization and to our external stakeholders and he wanted to make sure he met those commitments before he exited.
3. He wanted to give the organization sufficient time to find a replacement for his role. He knew that it’s difficult to find people for senior roles and more so, in his very niche area.
4. He wanted to make sure he does a thorough and complete transition to the new person while he was still around.
5. He put together a comprehensive transition plan that covered all critical aspects that would help a new person hit the road running from Day one.
6. He made a master document outlining his directory structure, key relationships and status with each of them and finally a list of key tasks that require attention.
7. He ensured he reworked his folder / filing structure including renaming files to make it easy for the new person to find documents. He invested time in cleaning up his folders.
8. He ensured there was active communication with all external stakeholders and managed any anxieties that might arise with pending timelines.
Finally, he ensured that the universe of relationships he built at Dream a Dream were kept intact and everyone would remember him for the remarkable colleague, friend and human being that he is.
Through this transition, I wondered why he invested as much time and effort and the question I asked myself is ‘Why was it important for him? Why is it important to transition well out of an organization?’
Transitions leave an impact on the organization. Work gets impacted for a certain time period till it picks up again. Sometimes, it puts pressure on the system and is a cause for stress, especially in small organizations. The burden moves to others in the team and it affects their ability to be productive.
In the way that this person planned and executed his transition, I learnt that it’s important to leave with your head held high. Leave without burdening the organization to manage and figure things out after you are gone. Leave knowing that your hard work will bear fruit and will be continued as you had planned and for that is important to plan your exit, prepare for your transition and invest in making it thorough. It’s important to take pride in the work that you have done and that pride ensures you plan and execute a thorough transition.
Moreover, in our time with organizations we build and nurture relationships, we make friends and it’s important to keep the connections intact. A half-hearted transition could, in a moment, undo the hard work and credibility you have built in your time here.
Something we all have to think about is, ‘what and how do you want to be remembered when you are gone? What is the legacy you want to leave behind?’
Mahesh Chandrasekar, you have set new benchmarks at Dream a Dream for transitions and exits and you will always be remembered for your amazing work ethic.
1 comment:
You need a like button for the blog! Well planned transitions do matter a lot!
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