It’s been a hell of a year so far. I wrote back in March about my big milestone of reaching 10 years at Salesforce, however, what I didn’t mention in that article (which I didn’t want to) was the ongoing turmoil in the technology industry.
It’s been well documented that a number of organizations have faced layoffs in the past 6 months, as many companies re-align after the COVID-19 pandemic and deal with economic uncertainty and the possibilities of a recession. Salesforce wasn’t immune to these layoffs, as noted in the media, and it’s been challenging to see so many colleagues and friends have to exit the company.
A good chunk of my time in the past few months has been spending time with employees that have been impacted by the layoffs (not only at Salesforce but in other companies) to offer help and support as they navigate a really challenging time. This felt natural to me: as a people leader and as someone who sees themselves as a multiplier, I wanted to make sure that the folks that I had worked with were setup for success in their next journey and offered my help where I can.
As the dust has started to settle with these changes, a lot of my focus has turned inward on the impacts to the next phase of my career, how much control I have and ultimately trying to focus on positivity.
Losing Control
As part of the recent layoffs and company restructuring, I have been forced to change my role and apply my efforts and experiences to new areas of the organization. For now, and for the first time in nearly 10 years, I am no longer considered a “people leader” and am now an “individual contributor” (more commonly referred to as an “IC”). By no means was moving to an IC part of my career plan or career journey. I had always considered myself to be “climbing the corporate ladder” and moving up the rungs, hopefully, eventually getting to a Vice President level role at an organization. VP roles, generally, lead larger organizations so my natural path was likely headed down that route.
Now, I find myself back on the IC track. It’s taken me a bit of time to realize the impacts of this, but ultimately, I’m approaching it with an open perspective and an opportunity to flex muscles that haven’t been flexed in a while, as well, to be able to learn new skills. The new opportunity I have as an IC is really cool, and affords me an opportunity to work with some of the best and the brightest technologists in the company. I also moved-up in the org chart as well, which I will take as a win for my professional growth!
My biggest lesson through all of this has been around control. I quickly came to realize that while I can influence and control my career, to some extent, sometimes life throws you curveballs that you need to adapt to. Your career path should be driven by you, however, the path will wind and turn and you’ll need to be flexible to adapt to the turns on the path. Going forward, I’m looking at my career journey less like a ladder, and more like a jungle-gym, which will give me a new perspective on what growth means and the opportunity to try new things.
Gaining Positivity
I am, and always have been, a bit of a pessimist. I’m usually of the mind of thinking about the glass being half-empty, assuming things are going to go wrong, etc. and then being pleasantly surprised when they do go right. This mindset has helped me be extra prepared for basically everything in life (savings accounts, emergency preparedness kits, security cameras, always packing extra clothes - you name it!), but also has a toll on my day-to-day mental health.
So you could imagine the challenges I face under the climate of workforce instability, less than a year after purchasing a new home. I have been really lucky to work in technology for my whole career, which has been relatively stable. During the tough times of 2008, I was still relatively new to the industry, didn’t have multiple mortgages or kids to feed. In 2023 the game has changed, and this whole experience has had a damaging affect to my mental health.
With all that being said, as part of this journey I have tried to follow my regular routine to support my own mental health and wellbeing:
Getting regular exercise (5-6 times per week).
Practicing yoga daily.
Meditating daily.
Writing in my gratitude journal daily.
These activities have really helped support me during these tough times, and are really helping me turn the corner on my mindset going forward. In particular, my gratitude practice is something that I’m doubling-down on each day. Not only in my journal, but also starting to frame my life from a lens of positivity vs. negativity. I actually have a goal each day to lead with positivity, which is probably my toughest challenge of all this year, but something i’m continuing to work on for my own mental health.
I’m really proud of how I have been able to navigate these challenges so far this year. I can look ahead to better times and see myself looking back at this as a real growth moment for me, and something that will ultimately make me a better person in the long-term. It doesn’t mean that it’s easy now, but it’s already getting a bit easier day-by-day. I’m warming up to the fact that I don’t have as much control as I thought I did, and to balance that, I’m putting positivity as a priority in my life.
