Throughout my career, I’ve often wondered how to apply the concepts of the Sabbath year and the Year of Jubilee. Working in a large organization for many years, I noticed that when Executives remained in their roles longer than seven years, multiple things happened:
- Those Executives often burned out in their roles, reducing their effectiveness;
- Successors were not adequately prepared; and
- The organization often stagnated, losing opportunities for fresh perspectives and new ideas.
What about the Year of Jubilee? I turned 50 in 2021, and 2022 marked the most difficult year of my professional career. Just six months after celebrating my 50th birthday, I found myself on the receiving end of some difficult feedback. Our leadership pointed out that, as Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer, I was not as engaged as I needed to be in key leadership discussions, and there was a disconnect between what our organization was doing and what customers wanted. My boss and I were encouraged to get out to the Field Centers and more actively seek customer feedback. Further, our Executive Leadership Team was not aligned around a common vision for the future.
In June, the Chief Human Capital Officer and I decided to divide & conquer in a new way. She would take more of the CEO focus on where we were going—up & out with customers. I would take more of the COO focus on how we would get there—down & in with our team.
Click here for my reflections of the last six months