Life After PR Series – “Greg”, Part 3 – How Did the Promotion Greg was offered lead to the end of his successful career at the consulting firm?

Judith Cushman All Posts, Life After PR - Greg 0 Comments

judith cushman associates human resources consulting life after public relations prAnswer: The promotion to a new role based at the headquarters of the firm, meant committing to a leadership track and paying a high personal price. Relocation would be a major family issue.
Also, Greg had been given a great deal of managerial freedom to increase client billings and to create a highly profitable, productive and stable office. His success was about leading a group and fostering a culture of teamwork and wins. The next move he was offered fundamentally changed the nature of his work.

Greg was asked to take on a global role as head of the technology practice. He would essentially become a world-wide traveler to spearhead new business presentations and be “on call” to contribute to current client situations. He would not oversee an office and would need to move to New York City to work at company headquarters. He would be expected to be a team player reporting to the senior leaders of the firm.

Greg accepted the promotion and moved his family. It took about a year for Greg to realize that he was not happy with this role. In essence he discovered that he was not a candidate to run an organization that took him away from direct leadership of teams and clients. This discovery was a direct connection with the early values that shaped him. He also reaffirmed how important his family was and how this move was taking too high a toll on their lives.

He understood that “the fix” was not a matter of moving to another agency where he might be more successful. He recognized that he needed to make a major change and decide what he really wanted to do and how he could be sure his family would be happy with his decision. With all the success he had had, it took enormous courage to essentially give up a 17+ year investment.

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