Comments on: Gutting it out

By: HRM Today - Blog Archive » The Leadership Development Carnival #3: Special Sarah Palin Edition

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:26:16 +0000

[...] be needing to “gut it out” in the upcoming months, so here’s Jim Stroup on Staying the course when the work is tough Managing Leadership posted at Managing [...]

By: links for 2008-09-04 « Unjustly

links for 2008-09-04 « Unjustly — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:03:14 +0000

[...] Staying the course when the work is tough | Managing Leadership What he told me was that some mornings on the way to work he would become so discouraged at the prospect of facing yet another such daunting day, he would have to pull over to the side of the road. He knew he couldn’t let his staff see him like that. [...]

By: Jim Stroup

Jim Stroup — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:13:48 +0000

Hello Allen,

The announcement of the assignment received by the subject of my post is typically received with fear and despair at the prospect of the likelihood of failure at worst, or spotty results at best – a career stopper or, at least, stumbling block. It is mixed with the knowledge that with vast good luck and guts, it can burnish your star. But that is mostly luck, and many a terrific manager has been ruined by this assignment.

The thing is, though, that everyone knew it was an unquestionably valid organizational need. Is that the case with yours, or is some sort of corporate pathology clinging to this dangerous program? Is the assignment a temporary step in a career path, or is it more enduring than that? Has the organization, in designing the program and its staffing, considered its impact both on the outfit’s performance/needs and the development/welfare of its staff?

It is always the case, isn’t it, that as individuals we must consider our own needs as human beings to be primary – for ourselves, our families, and indeed for our ability to contribute meaningfully and sustainably at work. The best firms know that and incorporate it into their planning. When they don’t, it is up to us to not forget it for our own sakes and those of our families and loved ones.

Thanks for stopping by with this trenchant comment. I hope we hear from you again soon – I would certainly be interested in hearing a bit more about this program in your firm.

Thanks again for stopping in with this, Allen.

By: Allen Adams

Allen Adams — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:52:47 +0000

I was leading a project with lots of dark alleys. I would go into work and dread any e-mails or phone calls that awaited me. Eventually, I had to step down from the assignment, as there were no lights at the end of the tunnel. I had become depressed and could not sleep.

It turns out, 5 years later, that I was the 2nd of 6 project managers trying to lead a program that, even today, continues to have many dark alleys, many of which are self-induced by the corporation’s need to try and succeed at the project.

At the time that I stepped down, it personally saddened me that I had to make that choice. Relinquishing the assignment put me into a career tailspin, which I’ve really never recovered from.

As I mentioned, the project continues to be a grinder and people continue to try to do the best they can. There are some people that have remained on the project all these years. I cannot figure out if I admire or pity them.