Disillusioned with Your Company? How Not to Damage Your Career

Contemporary Princess and the Pea by Eugenio Recuenco

by Alicia Kan

A lot of women want to be leaders, but all too often they commit a common sin.

They have to be right while everyone else has to be wrong.

Women go through their career from junior to mid-level manager to director pretty much believing that companies treat their staff well; that leaders are honourable and above reproach; that they are ethical and professional. Leaders must have got there because of their smarts, skills and experience.

When promoted to an upper management role, these women soon see that it's an entirely different picture. 

In any company, the higher you go, the more mind-boggling the amounts of incompetence, in-fighting, bureaucracy and political maneuvering going on upstairs. And you thought you'd left it all behind on the ground.

For women who have been confident about their leadership abilities until then, this requires learning a whole new set of skills -- and coming to terms with the anger and disappointment that a) the company is not as stitched up as it claims it is, b) its leaders have feet of clay and c) people are not playing fair.

Most women I know face a crossroads at this point. They struggle because their personal value system conflicts with the new reality, and like most women their moral compass has guided them all throughout their lives. They feel personally betrayed.

The truth is leadership at the very top is a complex, multi-layered affair. Compromises and hard decisions are made. Idealists don't see the entire picture however, what they focus on are the dissonance and hypocrisy that they view through their own unique lens. And the conclusion here is that everyone on top is an idiot. 

I've met a good number of disgruntled women who effectively turned on their companies and nearly ruined their leadership chances. Often they would vent their disappointment to colleagues within the company, who would counter with their own stories of injustice. Or they would blog, tweet and use other social media as an outlet. And the cycle of negativity spirals even deeper. 

Nothing gets done by perpetuating negativity. And it's disloyal. As leaders, our job is to effect change by positively influencing and nurturing people. As leaders, our duty is building up, not tearing down the company.

Still unhappy? Have a candid chat with your superior. Maybe you are not cut out for the new position, need coaching or it may just be you're in the wrong field altogether. Know yourself -- and know which side you're on.

Reblogged from Alicia Kan at Things They Don't Teach You In Business School