Why Tech Leaders Quit?

Let me share a story about Luca, a tech guy, who has this huge passion about cooking and technology. Luca is a part of the project team that I am supporting.

So, couple of months ago we started talking about the lack of energy he is feeling. At some point, he said: ''Some days I feel so low, that honestly I am REALLY thinking about quitting my job and moving to the village''. ''So what would you do'' - I was curious to find out. ''Maybe, I could start Cooking In The Nature show, and then post my videos on the social media'' - he responded.

Last time Luca had cooked a meal and posted on the social media, his video went viral. So, we played with the idea for awhile. But, he was obviously very anxious to act on it, as that would require a big change. Plus, he loves his tech job, so we needed to find a different solution. The goal was to figure out the way to keep the job he loves, save energy and enjoy more on a daily basis. So, what did we do? To follow the story, here is a little bit of a background, so you can understand why Luca sometimes imagines a different life.

Luca performs a role of Lead Security Architect, and he is responsible for the security capability development in his company. And, if that sounds complexed, it’s because it is. So, what does a typical day for him look like? Well, it’s not typical at all. He works with the team members and clients in far-flung time zones. He is accountable for the technical strength of the solution they provide to their clients. Beside the tech lead role, he is responsible for the information flow and communication both within the team and beyond, with stakeholders, other technical teams and parts of the organisation. And, he takes responsibility for professional development of his people. 

There are many things on Luca's plate every day. So, can you imagine how he needs a lot of energy to manage everything? That's why it was clear to me that we needed to find the way to make Luca restore his energy, as he was moving towards ''burn out''. Good thing, he was fully aware of it. So here is what happened next. First step was all about recognising patterns and habits that led to his ''lack of energy''. Tasks, his team, clients, company goals...we were already working on that in our group sessions. So, on the individual meetings, we decided to shift focus on what he could do for himself in a long run. You know what they say: Leader without energy, has nothing to give to the team. So this was not only a personal target, but a strategic leadership goal.

It did not take long to name a few things that were not in sync with his too busy day.

• Not having enough of body movement 
• Bad eating habits
• Poorly organised time around daily tasks
• Bad emotional management

You know I am a Gym lover, and I have my personal trainer to support me in ''making the right kind of movements'' during the week. I also take long walk back home whenever I can. So, Luca liked it and he made a decision to hire a personal trainer who also advised him about changes in the nutrition department that would make a huge difference. Not having much time to walk back home, he started to have short ‘’desk gateway's''. Funny though, it took only 3 hours of dedicated time per week and more balanced meals (nothing radical), and after first two weeks, Luca reported back how he was already feeling much better. Two of us continued to focus more on the other two things that left Luca feeling ''drained''. So, here is how Luca started to organise his time and emotional guiding system.

Instead of jumping from one tasks to another, receiving calls in the middle of the meeting, and answering emails all day long, we worked to establish a different routine. He started organising his work periods as “ultradian sprints’’ where he would fully focus for 90 minutes on a task at hand and then take a true ‘’recovery’’ break (which was not always about long break). Plus we focused on the emotional management, because as cliché as it sounds, the most challenging part of the day for Luca was interacting with different people. So we worked on the ‘’choice mindset’’ and  step by step Luca learned to recognise how powerfully the story we tell ourselves influences the emotions they feel.

So, that's the story about Luca and few interventions that made a huge difference in Luca's life and made him not think about quitting his job on a daily basis. But it's also the story about many of us. In a world that brings so much on our table, in the jobs that are super dynamic and challenging, it's all about saving and restoring energy. We think we have it because its a given. But we forget we need to do something to fuel it. That's the decision we make. Every day. And, we CAN do something about it. If not, we might start ''running on empty'', and that brings into the picture some serious consequences. 

What about YOU? How do you manage your energy? Do you often find yourself ''running on empty''?