Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know what you’re thinking… “You’re too young to be burnt out”, “Wait until you’re 40, 50 or 60, kid”. You’re right, and that’s okay. I’ll be the first to admit that I shouldn’t have been feeling that way. There are so many of you out there going through so much more than me. I empathize with you. As you’re reading this, start internalizing your feelings and think back to a time when you were energized by your career. When you were excited to sit down at your computer, or when you looked forward to going into the office.
It took me a few weeks to realize I had these feelings after joining Sumtotal in September of this year. Obviously, I was over-the-moon excited about joining the organization, but it’s hard to reflect about a job change when you need to go through onboarding right away. “Drinking through a firehose” is the first experience you receive when you join any organization. Introductions, meetings, getting into the software… all keep you feeling overwhelmed. It wasn’t until my wife and I were reflecting on the big job and life changes we’ve had over the past year or so to realize that I was in a rut.
This isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy the companies and people I worked with over the past two years. I enjoyed them very much. This is something different… something better. The challenge! The tasks to achieve success in enterprise sales. The types of conversations I’m having internally and externally with customers and prospects. The magnitude of knowledge I have access to as an employee and by talking with my colleagues is outstanding. I’m continuously pinching myself, thanking the man upstairs, and counting my blessings.
Here’s the part where I share with you a little information about the leadership I report to. Yes… I’m well aware they could read this. No, this isn’t my attempt to suck up or be a brownnoser. This is where you put yourself in my shoes and think about your immediate leadership. Reflect on what they do, what they don’t do and decide if you’re in the best possible position to achieve your goals. Also, if they read this; good! Everybody needs praise and reminded that they’re doing something that not a lot of people like doing; leading teams and motivating people.
It takes grit to run a team of sales professionals! Not only are they response for individuals, they’re responsible for those individuals’ quotas. You thought ‘carrying a bag’ was difficult, try carrying seven of them… try carrying 60 of them. On top of their daily job, they’ve got to manage these people, make sure they’re doing their jobs, helping them when they can, and report their wins/losses to someone else. And guess what… if something falls through the cracks, who’s ultimately responsible?
These folks I’ve been working with, do it all with grace! Sales management, training, support, legal and services… There’s no issue that can’t be resolved together. It doesn’t matter the job title or seniority of these individuals; they’re all happy to help. I’ve truly been amazed at the conversations I’ve been included throughout my short tenure.
Great Jordan… What’s your point? What does this mean for me… Great question! I’ve been reminded of what it’s like to be on a team. A team that cares. A team that motivates. A team that’s willing to join the battle and fight with you, and a team that’s willing to give its’ all even if we fail. That, right there, is why I’ve been reenergized. I’m challenged everyday and I have the support of a team that will back me up. I don’t spend Sunday nights dreading the next morning.
So… If there is ONE thing you can take away from reading this piece, I would challenge you, to ask yourself, “Are you fulfilled in your career?” That’s a loaded question, obviously. But it’s a good start. That will get the ball rolling. That will challenge you to begin re-working your goals. That will help you take the first step towards finding happiness in your work.
As I re-begin this journey to produce content, you can stay up to speed on the topics I’ll be covering on LinkedIn and my personal website www.JordanBarta.com. Topics included are; sales, social selling, motivation, goal setting and overall positive attitude. If you took away something from this article, please share that with me in the comments below. And do your network a favor by sharing, liking and commenting on this! You never know what impact you’ll have on someone else’s life!
Thanks!