“Happy or Sad?” Hearing this phrase, many of us must be recalling the scene of Thomas Shelby from Peaky Blinders. Well, nope, I won't be talking about anything in that series. We will be going with the literal meaning of the phrase, like I'm going to face something with such a dilemma that I am puzzled to decide whether I should be happy or sad.
In life, we often encounter situation that comes with both the opposite metrics to go with. Something crucial is going to happen from my place. Not with me directly, but gonna influence me the most, will be needed to back up the situation from that day.
So actually what happened?
My senior, with whose guidance I started my job life, had the opportunity to deep dive into new realms of tech product development and so on. I still remember the baby steps, the tasks, and assignments to get started, and now he feels I am capable of replacing him. Yeah, he has been preparing me to get the ability to carry on the legacy he has been carrying and adopt the skill sets he has mastered. And now, he has shared his willingness to quit here for new destinations as his thirst for exploring something new has grown beyond the limitations. In short, he is gonna resign, and everything we both were doing together is gonna fall on me, only me to handle these tasks.
Why quit?
He has always been on a hunger to explore new stuff, do unique things, and build something in such a way that everyone ends up perplexed. He was never into repetitive comfort zone type work, nor has he let me do them. Because he feels like these are just cheating, not only with the company who are paying us but also with ourselves, as it kills the growth, thirst of hunger for learning something new.
There were some wrong decisions from the management, which created some disputes among the employees a month ago, which kinda fueled his desire to go for better adventures. Well, he used to always motivate me to update myself continuously to keep pace with the newer requirements of better opportunities. Always delivered suggestions for my good, tried to keep my motivation high, and taught how to manage work pressure and keep going.
What's happy or sad related to his resignation?
The saddest part first, I'm gonna lose my mentor. He, who trained me from zero to hero, is gonna leave us. I'm gonna miss him, especially in my next chair. Gonna miss him on the counters that he used to give whenever something off came our way. So he's leaving, which is the sad part.
To be happy, there are many reasons. First of all, he is gonna land in a better place, so that's like a step ahead for him. Everyone needs to progress from all the metrics. Another reason is that I'm gonna be taking more responsibilities, more room to leave impacts that will be visible. I had always wanted to mark my contribution that gets visible, now it's all of me, everything is gonna be coming from me if Allah wills. An opportunity for me to face the big challenges, with no one to give hints, assist, or shield in these days.
"ᵂᵒʳᵈˢ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵖⁱᶜˢ ᵃʳᵉ ᵐⁱⁿᵉ, ᵘⁿˡᵉˢˢ ᴵ ˢʰᵒᵘᵗᵒᵘᵗ ʷʰᵉʳᵉ ᵗʰᵉʸ ᶜᵃᵐᵉ ᶠʳᵒᵐ!"
Things that are terrifying me
From now on, I will be responsible for everything coming from my department, leaving me with no scope to make a mistake that someone will cover up. None above me to help or give backup. I will be handed over the responsibilities 3x more than I am doing, perhaps. So far, I have been working on the skeleton that he has already made, a workflow that he had already suggested. Yes, I too did, but not like that in a full-fledged way.
I will need to study more and focus on researching new ideas so I can prove my worth. Need to go in-depth on stuff so I can deliver the best version of what I will be working on because the room for mistakes has come down close to zero, none to fix or backup, all I've got is myself.
I saw it coming
To be honest, this didn't come all of a sudden. Months ago, my senior shared his vision to join a new place as he sees his growth on a standstill. He felt like he had learned the max he could have from here, explored this pretty enough, and now he wants more. As our company had nothing new to challenge him, he felt like trying somewhere new, to begin with newer challenges, to take him one step ahead with the skillsets. He suggested to I to update myself continuously, look for better opportunities if doable.
Also, a few days back, he shared his desire to quit. He also added that it's necessary for me as well, in my career. I was clueless at first. Later, he explained the fact that I am growing under his umbrella, unless or until he doesn’t steps away, my full potential won't be visible, my skillsets won't be sharpened at their peak, my ability won't grow. It's necessary for me to climb up the ladder of responsibility for the greater good.
I too feel like this would be a huge opportunity for me to lead, to come out as a leader, as someone who is key to progress. I know the pressure is gonna be multiplied by a lot, responsibilities are gonna spike, and there are more things to be accountable for. If I can tackle all of this somehow, get on the flow, maintain the existing progress, then it's gonna be huge, really a huge achievement for me, not just here, but for my whole career. The leadership capability with proper skill sets can really push me ahead.
So as he said, this decision of his to quit from here is gonna impact my career as well. If I can grab the responsibility and leadership properly, minimize his absence of him and keep things going properly, then it's gonna benefit me for sure. So that's what my plan is as well, gonna give my fullest to do things even more.
Best of luck to him and me as well. Both of us are gonna be on a new adventure to be on the next level.