Pri Notowidigdo, The Amrop Hever Group, Global Executive Search,
Pri Notowidigdo, The Amrop Hever Group, Global Executive Search,
Jakarta, (e-mail: jakarta@amrophever.com)
Dealing with your feelings when you accept a job offer
You get a call from a friend in the morning. He tells you
about a vacancy in his company that interests you, and arranges a
meeting with the CEO.
The CEO likes you and offers you a managerial position at
twice your current salary. You're speechless. You're overwhelmed.
You're flattered. You start daydreaming of buying that Gucci suit
you saw in Plaza Indonesia. You can pay off your debts. You start
planning a trip to Melbourne to meet your fiance's family.
However, unsettling thoughts come to mind -- unfinished
business, job responsibility, trust, and existing relationships.
You feel uneasy and confused. What's happening? What are the
issues? How can you resolve them? This poses a moral dilemma that
affects both your personal as well as your professional life.
You likely feel a sense of responsibility to complete your
unfinished tasks. This is compounded by the fact that business
has been picking up, keeping you and your colleagues very busy.
You may feel guilty at the prospect of leaving a collegial
environment which nurtures dignity, freedom, responsibility, open
communication and growth.
What are the issues? Isn't the big issue about meaning? What
does moving to another company mean to you? What does it mean for
you to stay in your current company? It all comes down to
reflecting on those values which have guided you in life --
family, respect for others, integrity and responsibility among a
range of things. What's important to you? What are the
implications of your decision for your values?
It would seem worthwhile to ask yourself why do you work
anyway?Do you work only for survival? Or do you see work as a
gift that helps you to grow? How you answer these questions may
have a lot to do with the way you view work and the people who
work with you.
It seems to me that work is more than just performing tasks.
It is part of who you are, or at least who you should be. As you
work together with other people and develop your skills and
talents, you can express your creativity and enhance your
dignity. This is all part of performing and producing services
and benefits for others. It is within the context of an
organization of people who produce value.
Doesn't your work and the value of serving others provide a
reason for your work? In the process you learn to give, not just
receive, and to contribute something of value to the organization
and other people, not just to do a job.
All this points to the importance of dignity. What is the
basis of your self-esteem? Is it externally defined like your job
title or the car you drive? Or, is it internally defined like the
satisfaction you feel when you have achieved something? Can you
bring your values to work and apply them everyday?
It would seem to me that our desire is not to be known for
what we know but for what we do. We must be people of integrity
seeking to do that which is right even when no one is looking.
And we must stay committed to what matters most to us whether the
test is adversity or prosperity. Yes, I truly believe that these
principles can work even in the market place.
Whatever decision you make as a professional does not affect
just the bottom line of your company -- or of yourself for that
matter. It affects people -- fellow workers, customers,
employees, your boss and your loved ones.