When our skill sets and passion no longer match our position….

“We need you to convince the CEO that it is time for him to step down from his role in the company. As the founder of this concept, he was very successful in taking us to where we are today. As a publically traded company, we can no longer run our business with the same processes and systems. We need a CEO who is experienced in building and growing larger publically traded companies,” stated a senior member of the executive team.

With the exception of the CEO, I had just finished assessing the entire executive and management team. Each person left with their assessment results, a better understanding of their strengths and developmental opportunities and an individual 3-5 year career plan. I had expected to do the same with the CEO. However, after hearing the words from the last executive to go through the process, I knew there was a different set of expectations for the CEO’s session.

I couldn’t help but wonder just how I would deliver the message as well as how he would receive it.

“How did you originally come up with the idea for the company?” I asked the CEO.

As he recounted the story of the company’s humble beginnings, I couldn’t help but watch his energy and enthusiasm build. From the conception of the idea to the grass roots marketing to the fund raisers in the store’s parking lot, the passion this CEO had for starting this company was obvious. In fact, his passion was so compelling and contagious that it was not hard at all for me to understand how he had made his dream a reality.”

I followed up after hearing his story, “Now that the company has experienced so much success, it is a totally different place than it was in those early years. Tell me what a typical day is like for you now.”

He sighed and then began to describe a typical day and as he did so, his energy and affect changed. He recited in an almost monotonic voice, a rundown of a typical day. He then described his main responsibilities and priorities. After he was through, I commented that it appeared that the work he was doing now was very different from the work he was doing when he first started the company. I also told him I could tell a difference in his energy level and passion when he talked about now and when he talked about then.

“It appears that your days do not consist of things that ignite your passion and energy,” I reflected.

He was silent for a time. “Do you think that’s why I’m not excited to come to work every day? Do you think that’s why I avoid some of the things I know I should be doing in my role?”

“The skills that it takes to start a company can be very different than the skills it takes to run and grow one, especially at this level. It is not unusual for a creative, entrepreneurial founder and CEO to be somewhat bored and de-energized at this stage of the game” I related.

“That’s why you find many entrepreneurs can’t let their companies grow to the next level. They don’t want to let go of the things that made them successful in the first place. Sometimes they will implement too many new programs and changes in a short amount of time in an attempt to re-energize. Sometimes it is the only way they can keep their minds engaged and stimulated. Time and energy is wasted as new programs are introduced before others have had time to be fully implemented and integrated. Sometimes this type of CEO will jump into the areas and departments that energize them the most and bypass the manager or director who is really in charge. This can lead to frustration as well as eventual lack of morale as the department head or department never knows when the CEO is going to request a special project or start a new one on top of the work they already have in place.”

“When this happens, it is most likely that the CEO is trying to regain the passion and energy they once felt. In many cases, it is time for them to move on. Some move to an advisory role, others move on to start another company or business. But the ones who stay and are not aware of the impact to themselves and others often have to witness the deterioration of the business on some level.”

The CEO was still and obviously in reflective mode. “That’s what I’m doing. I’m trying to keep myself engaged and energized and doing some of the very things you talked about. I haven’t really realized until now just how much my passion is gone. No wonder I’m coming up with all these ideas. And you’re right. I’m getting so many complaints from my people that I am initiating so many new programs and changes that they aren’t able to fully implement one program before it’s time to roll out another.”

“I never realized that a lot of the new initiatives or projects I came up with were things that would bring me energy or keep my mind stimulated. Looking back, I wonder how effective those new projects really were for the company. It sounds like I need to get my “fix” for starting new projects and creating new concepts somewhere else. It seems as if maybe it is time for me to move on from this position.”

I wondered how he would feel when he flew back to the corporate office. I would find out 4 weeks later. I flew out for a follow up session with the executive team. In the middle of the session, the CEO came in and announced that he had come to the realization that it was time to step down as CEO and that it was time to bring in someone who had the skill sets necessary to take the company to the next level. He related that after leaving the session he had with me, he realized that his skills were not aligned with the skills necessary to take the company at this stage to the next level. He related that his skill set and passion was geared towards the start up and initial growth phase of a company. And that he had done.

When the passion that we have for the job that we do is gone, it is time to take a step back and consider why. Maybe it is time to volunteer for a non-profit organization that we’re passionate about in our hours after work. Maybe it is time to re-structure our current job so that it is more aligned with our skill sets and passion. Maybe it is time to take another position in our company that allows us to do more of what we love most. Maybe it is time to move to another company. Maybe it is time to change career fields. Maybe it is time to start our own company. Maybe we just need to balance our work with the rest of our lives. Maybe we need to re-discover what brings us joy.

Life and work without passion takes its toll in some form or other. No exceptions.

One thing I’m sure of… Only we really know what brings us passion and gives us energy. When we take the time and listen to the wisest part of ourselves, we will always know the next step to take….always.