Turmoil

Today was a day filled with turmoil both positive and negative. I was met at my office with my new manager to talk about some time sensitive topic regarding possibilities in my career. As an employee there is nothing better than feeling appreciated and valued. As this conversation continued I found myself talking about my team and some challenges that we are facing.

After the meeting with her I was then approached from a member of my team who has been having major concerns about her career. In my experience as a leader I have never seen an employee so damaged by an organization. This person has lost total confidence in the organization and has become highly unmotivated. This is certainly a disservice for the employee and the organization. During the conversation the challenges were about money and ability to move up. However her recommendation was she wanted to take on a lesser role?? This is very troubling as someone wants to reduce their workload but expect more compensation.

Upon ending the conversation early, I felt it would be appropriate to have another conversation after the emotions had taken there course. I explained to her the view of moving down and how I feel she has the talent to be a leader in the organization. We concluded with myself setting up a meeting with her an Sr Mgmt to have a conversation about career planning. My fear in this situation is to lose a solid employee due to a short term emotional break down. However as a leader I recognize that now is not the time to have this person in a leadership role as she can and will have a negative impact on the team.