One of the things that's fascinating about coaching is that I get an inside glimpse into dozens of organizations to see how they operate. I can tell you right now the ones I would want nothing to do with, and the ones that appear to run really well.
I can also tell you the ones that have nutjobs as leaders inside of them, the organizations that have fancy words on the wall claiming they are focused on culture when they're not, and the ones that actually focus on the core values they claim.
Coaching gives you a fascinating glimpse into the corporate world, and I can tell you that no two companies run the same, and that's ok. However, you have to understand the mindset shift that you must have when you work for an incredible team or company, to when you make the shift to one that runs like a short-staffed TSA line at JFK airport at 5am.
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The hardest part is that you usually don't realize how good you had it until you leave. When you work somewhere that communicates well, makes decisions quickly, trusts its people, and actually has competent leadership, you start to believe that's just how companies operate. Then you join somewhere else, and suddenly you're sitting in your fourth meeting about a meeting, waiting three weeks for an approval that should take ten minutes, wondering what the hell is going on.
This is where people get themselves into trouble. They keep trying to operate the way they did at their previous company. They expect the same level of urgency. They expect decisions to make sense. They expect leaders to communicate clearly. They expect people to actually do what they said they were going to do. Eventually they realize they aren't working at the same place anymore, and if they don't adjust, they are going to drive themselves absolutely insane.
I've coached people who came from incredibly high-performing organizations and moved into companies that were complete chaos. They spend the first six months saying things like, "At my old company we would have done this," or, "I don't understand why they can't just make a decision." Well, they can't. That's the company you work for now. You can either spend every day being pissed off about it, or you can figure out how to be effective inside of the environment you actually have.
That doesn't mean accepting stupidity. It doesn't mean lowering your standards or becoming part of the dysfunction. It means understanding the game you're playing. If approvals take three weeks, stop building your plans around getting approval tomorrow. If your boss changes their mind every five minutes, document everything. If nobody communicates, overcommunicate. If the organization moves slowly, start earlier. You have to learn how to navigate the company you work for, not the company you wish you worked for.
You have to learn how to navigate the company you work for, not the company you wish you worked for.
This is one of the biggest career skills nobody really talks about. Adaptability isn't just being willing to learn a new system or work with a new team. Sometimes adaptability is learning how to operate inside a company that drives you fucking nuts without allowing it to completely destroy your attitude. That's a much harder skill than learning a new CRM.
Of course, there is also a point where you have to decide whether adapting is even worth it. Some companies are dysfunctional but manageable. Some companies are dysfunctional and toxic. There is a difference. If you're spending every Sunday night dreading Monday morning, constantly questioning your own sanity, or watching great people leave every month, maybe the answer isn't learning how to navigate the dysfunction better. Maybe the answer is getting the hell out.
The biggest takeaway I've learned from getting a front-row seat into so many different companies is that where you work matters more than people think. A great environment can make you feel like a superstar, while a terrible one can make the exact same person question whether they are any good at their job. So when you find yourself struggling after moving into a new organization, don't automatically assume you've suddenly forgotten how to work. Take a look around first. You might just be standing in the corporate equivalent of that TSA line at JFK at 5am, wondering why the hell nobody opened another lane.