I have always recommended everyone step out of their comfort zone in the past two years. But how integral is this sentence if I didn't step out?
My stories about this step started on April 10th, 2021. I remember we had a meeting where most of my colleagues forced a wrong decision. I felt betrayed at this point, and tension started developing inside. It was against my core values what I worked for in the past years. The meeting was still ongoing when a LinkedIn message popped up from a French gentleman. He offered me a position at a Boutique Bank.
This moment seemed like a sign from the Universe. Of course, I said yes to the initial discussion. In the middle of our conversation, I got the question: Is this a problem if I had to relocate?
The destination is in The Bahamas. I told, if I could relocate with my dog, then it is not an issue. The reaction was frank:
The dog will enjoy the white sand beach so much! :)
At this point, I was open to continuing the conversation, so he started to organize meetings with different leaders.
Later, I faced another decision that I knew would damage the organization. Because of a careerist colleague who pushed his will hard again, I faced a different decision from an ideal. If things turn bad around us, it reflects on the health conditions. I started to notice a slight increase in my blood pressure and weight. At this point, I felt I need to make changes in my life to regain my creativity and vitality.
We finished most of the interview processes in November. The company asked me to make a physical visit before I decided. It is a wise offer because the environment is not such I have experienced before.
After the visit I made my decision and immediately after I arrived back in Hungary I started my leave procedure. Because of the past month's decisions, I lost faith in the changes and focused on my future development.
The situation was also new for my leaders. On my level, leaders were fired, not quit in the past. Many of my ex-colleagues think I sent on my way with a fortune of money, but the reality is different. Based on the common agreement, I could expect less than what I usually got in the past years. With a rational mind, it reflects the value that I created in the past.
I learned one thing in finance, and one from my life:
(Finance) We have to get out of loss positions and focus again on gains
(Life) What life takes on one side, you will get from another place. Karma works. We don't need to act justice.
In the past years, I prepared my succession. I have strong faith that what I built the Bank can continue with talented leaders and management support. I left a working organizational unit behind myself, which could continue its journey on the paved way. I worked as a strategic leader. The only thing the Bank will miss is my strategic mindset. But it will not cause problems in the small run; the Bank has years to fulfill my gap.
I am not stressed anymore. I closed that part of my past life, and I will not write more about the past.
Deciding on relocation is a strong commitment. I have to finance it even with the company's support. Luckily I focused on savings in the past, so I had enough capital to accomplish. In this way, I didn't feel the lack of my possible compensation. That's a great power because I did it on my own without waiting for some miracle.