Hello friends!
Thank you for all the heartwarming support following my personal announcement in the last issue. And welcome to all who followed my invitation on Linkedin last week to follow along. It means a lot!
As promised, here’s the newest instalment of Seven Things as you know it with:
One — A story about the importance of making time for your colleagues
Two — Seven Things on judging countries, feeding fish, bragging, and more
1. Imagine You Left
The experience of voluntarily exiting a company really can be remarkable. I know my recent one certainly was. From the moment I handed in my notice, I became a "Schrödinger's Colleague" - both there and gone simultaneously.
All the social dynamics and my standing in the social cosmos of the corporation shifted. And my perspectives, too. With the moment of my departure moving closer every day, what mattered most was pushed to the fore: personal relationships.
I felt an urgency to invest as much time as possible into 'final one-to-one catch-ups' with all the colleagues I'd enjoyed working with. Since I'd been at this company for almost six years, that turned out to be a lot of people - more than I was ultimately able to meet. This led to a few surprising outcomes:
First, I learned a lot! Through dozens of conversations, which always featured, to an extent, what people were working on and were excited about for the remainder of the year, I was exposed to a multitude of professional and personal problems and opportunities, as well as stories about how they were approached.
What overwhelmed me most, however, was the tremendous encouragement, advice, and active support this community of soon-to-be former colleagues shared with me. Again, it covered everything from my professional plans, emotional ups and downs, and even a miraculous magic show performed in my honour.
After a few such interactions a pattern emerged: My conversation partners and I would wonder why we as a community share such experiences all too rarely until it was almost time to say goodbye. As much as I've previously written about minimising regret, this question makes me wonder what I should have done differently over those past six years. And here's what I'd like you to do about it:
List all the colleagues you've interacted with in the past few years.
Imagine you'd quit next week - who would you like to say goodbye to personally?
Schedule a personal catch-up with them outside the humdrum of day-to-day work. Go for a coffee away from the office if a change of scene is conducive to a more personal interaction.
Set a reminder to repeat this exercise in a few months.
Making time for colleagues away from the daily agenda isn't all about emotional gratification:
A 2008 meta-study in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that coworker support is significantly related to positive job attitudes and reduced intentions to leave. Further, stronger interactions with peers can lead to personal and professional growth and build networks to drive later career opportunities.
(As an interesting aside, the departure of colleagues can alter workplace social dynamics, potentially leading to increased cohesion among remaining staff or motivating reflections on personal career paths.)
After all the work is done, what's left are the relationships we cherish. So make time for them now. But be warned: They might just make you want to stay.
Thanks to all the wonderful people who made my work experience awesome those past few years.
2. Seven Things I thought were worth sharing
Personal Growth: Get your work recognised: write a brag document
Creator Showcase: Roland Kraemer’s surreal photography of geological structures. My favourite: The red sandstone formations of the Bardenas Rojas.
Design: There are many ‘first principles’ in Design. Browse them all, from old-school classics to modern advice on a principles.design
Art/Tool: Pattern Collider is a tool to explore non-repeating tiling patterns
Technology: I wrote about building defensible value propositions for AI products in Product Innovation
Sustainability: Doughnut Economics offers a better alternative to measuring and comparing countries by GDP
Fun/Entertainment: Feed the fish in the Koi Pond
What did you think of this issue? What did you like best? Did you have similar experiences to my departure story? Send me a reply or leave a comment.