Leaving Security for Shared Purpose

Cindy accepted a position with a company that was in the process of building their facility and brand new to our area around the same time I stepped into the HR/Safety manager role. As their very first employee, her responsibility was creating visibility, and thereby enlisting clients for that new business. And to be completely candid, she freaking killed it! So much of that was out of her comfort zone but she’s always been at least as diligent as me in living out Hill’s sixth leadership, “The habit of doing more than paid for.”

She was that organization’s only employee locally for several months and she was putting in a tremendous amount of time (and effort) to build their brand and develop the relationships necessary for when the doors would finally open. This role had a reasonable salary (for someone logging a standard workweek), but the bonuses were where she stood to see real ROI from everything she did over and above her boss’s expectations.

By the official ribbon cutting, she had already blown away everything the owners hoped to see. In just the few months that followed, she surpassed the organization’s first year goals. Truth be told, her bonuses were so substantial that they made up more than 50% of her total earnings in the time she was with that company. There were several months where more federal taxes were withheld from her compensation than I made - but I won’t go down the path detailing my disdain for taxation without representation - and I frequently referred to her as my “sugar mama”, which led to many a tilted head or scowl. That said, her outstanding performance was based on living the values she and I held deeply; values which we soon learned were not shared by many on the management team she was a part of.

Since it’s her story to tell, I won’t go into the specifics. I will, however, say that the package she was hired to promote throughout our community did not align with what the clients she brought onboard were receiving. After months of fielding concerns, addressing issues with her peers on that management team, and having very direct conversations with the executive group overseeing the project, a friend pulled her aside to express concern for how it could impact her reputation. This friend understood all that Cindy was doing to remediate the issues but explained how just being associated with the train wreck that was playing out would inevitably be related to her, especially with those who only knew her through the lens of dealing with that organization.

She had been in the role for just over a year at that point and had earned more in that time than the two of us had combined just two years prior, but she was consistently working at least 80 hours per week to do it. A month or so prior, I had twisted her arm to tag along with me so she could complete the licensing process with Maxwell Leadership; they had offered a spouse discount and I couldn’t pass up a bargain. She came with me, but was very clear that it was to appease me rather than to actually engage with me in the business I started a year earlier. 

When she shared the comment our friend had made, I hit my boiling point. We had both grown very frustrated by all the issues she was working to address and receiving no support from the rest of the local management team or the executives calling the shots. I suggested she submit her notice and move into our new business full time, her reputation was worth far more than any salary they could ever offer. 

That suggestion presented two issues. First, it meant she’d be giving up a six-figure role to join a business with barely any revenue whatsoever. We’ll come back to that… Second, she was very adamant a month earlier (when I coerced her to go with me to Orlando to work through the licensing process) that she had no interest in doing what I was doing in that business. I’ve referenced “Mastery of Details”, another one of Hill’s eleven leadership attributes here multiple times; her not being interested was a detail I wasn’t getting all that hung up on. The issue that gave cause for concern was cutting more than $100,000 from our annual household income!

We had both been living out The Habit of Doing More than Paid For and that, even through some of the greatest adversities we faced, provided us with seeds to greater opportunities than we could have imagined. As our foundation strengthened, in our careers and our personal life, we developed what Hill listed as his first leadership attribute: “Unwavering Courage,” largely based on what we had learned about ourselves and our skill sets along the way. Bold leaps often start with one partner sensing the call; supporting them requires courage and the habit of doing more than paid for. Cindy supported me when I started the business; this was where I could support her through an extremely tough decision - one where she’d likely not get paid at all for quite some time. We’ll work through some of the strain that created next. First, though, think about a time you supported someone’s challenging career transition. What blind spot in your own comfort did it expose?