Are you happy where you're working?
Wondering what else is out there?
Applying for roles that look like "greener" pastures?
Here are 3 questions to ask yourself when evaluating your current role or looking at new ones:
Are you compensated fairly?
Do you enjoy the people you work with?
Does the work you're doing give you purpose?
Some quick background
I was chatting with my CEO a few months ago and he asked if I was still enjoying it here. Is the role and company everything I hoped it’d be? Any feedback I have for him?
So I shared this "three circles" philosophy with him (shoutout to my sister Sara for teaching me this years ago):
I don't have hard data on this, but anecdotally what I've seen is:
👉 Some people sit outside of all 3 circles (let that really sink in for a second)
👉 Most people only sit in 1 of the 3 circles
👉 A minority of people sit in the overlap between 2 of the 3 circles
👉 A truly small percentage of people sit perfectly in the middle of all 3 circles
Having worked in various places throughout my career, I've experienced all of these scenarios.
When I was outside of all the circles, I dreaded going to work, would count down the minutes until I could clock out, and did everything I could to not have to think about the fact I'd have to go back to do that same thing the next day.
When I only covered one circle, the job was simply something I did from 9-5 and I would be on the lookout for the next, better, thing.
When I covered two circles, going to work was 10x more enjoyable. Most consider themselves lucky to be working at a place like this.
But as I now cover three circles, work has become fun. I genuinely look forward to each day and recognize how incredibly rare this is.
Ikigai
Yes, I know, some of you are probably thinking, “Sam, that’s ikigai, and it’s been around for ages.” And to that I’d say you’re absolutely correct. For those of you who may not be familiar, this graphic distills it down well:
So that’s where I like to think of the three circles philosophy as the “should I stay or should I go?” framework that’s a subset of the larger ikigai concept + allows you to drill in a little better for these types of evaluations.
“Grading” your answers
It’s natural to wonder what other opportunities are out there. Or for those actively on the job hunt, it’s easy to let a high compensation number overshadow the importance of the other two.
So let’s run through these questions as great “gut-check” items to sit down and think about before making a decision.
Am I compensated fairly?
If already employed: Are my needs met? What number would I need to see to seriously consider leaving?
If applying for roles: What number would I need to see to be comfortable with accepting this role?
Do I enjoy the people I work with?
If already employed: Do I get along with my colleagues? Do I learn from them? Do they foster an environment that drives me to want to be better?
If applying for roles: What do people say about the environment there? Do they enjoy working with their peers? Does Glassdoor have not-so-great feedback from current/previous employees?
Does the work I’m doing give me purpose?
If already employed: Do I enjoy my day-to-day responsibilities? Do I like and believe in the product(s)/service(s) we sell? Do I enjoy the market we serve?
If applying for roles: Do the day-to-day responsibilities excite me? Do I believe in the product(s)/service(s) they provide? Do I like the market they serve?
👉 If you cover 0 or 1 circles, there likely is something better out there for you
✌️ If you cover 2 circles, be careful not to fall into the "grass is greener on the other side" trap. This one typically happens for those who overlap between circles 2 and 3 + are drawn to a new opportunity because of compensation and trade-off overlapping 2 circles to go back down to just 1 circle (compensation)
🙌 If you cover 3 circles, consider yourself lucky to have found a role + place where you thrive
One podcast episode I enjoyed this week
"You are at a massive disadvantage if the only people you can learn from are the ones you agree with"
When I heard the above quote over the weekend while listening to a conversation between Derek Sivers + Chris Williamson on the Modern Wisdom podcast, it made me pause the podcast to reflect on that statement.
If we're only learning from those we agree with, we aren't learning - we're receiving confirmation bias. This is why I make it a point to seek other POVs that are different from mine. After a baseline level, we learn more from other POVs + incorporating those into our knowledge than continuing to pile on confirmation of it.
Discourse + disagreements are good, this is where we learn, this is where our eyes are opened to holes in our theories or knowledge. This is why I love the comments sections of some LinkedIn posts. Once we sift through the 90% that are defending their tribe, we come across 10% where gold lies in an amazing discourse between two sparring partners engaging.
Changing our mind or altering our POV doesn't mean that we were wrong or "dumb" before. It's actually the opposite - when we take our knowledge + theories to the public and seek to find the flaws + gaps in our thinking (vs. seek confirmation bias from our bubbles) and change our minds about something or shift our POV.
That's where we grow
That's where we improve
That's where the value lies
And for anyone interested, here’s the playlist I add to each week with some of my favorite podcast episodes:
See you next Saturday,
Sam
Founders will eschew pay and even people to some degree to pursue a purpose. If pay attracts people but not purpose, you have the wrong people. If people attract people, but not pay and purpose, you have the wrong people.
As individuals, Ikigai is a great guide. As business, your purpose, your envisioned future as HBR calls it, it's your passion for what you do. It's strong, it's emotional, it's clear. A very powerful component that can overcome temporarily the other two.
A purpose shared gives meaning to work. Building something of value, something unique, something interesting. It something you look back on and say "I helped build that".
Today's rapid push toward AI everything is building soulless businesses that are lacking a clear and compelling purpose other than money.
The Pay People Purpose intersection, the bullseye as it were, is where growth personally and professionally comes from. Work becomea fulfilling. And that is a great place to be.