Monday, February 2, 2009

Should you work for an org when you arent a fan of the leadership?

During my job search I came across an interesting struggle. What happens when the org you want to work for has leadership that you dont agree with? But you truly support the work of the org, love the other staff and have a deep dedication to the cause...

Well here are the three key learnings that I came up with while trying to tackle this problem...
  1. You make your own choices in your daily life, once working there, you can make moral objections as needed.
  2. If you choose to not work for an org because of the leadership, what difference have you really made? Wouldnt it mean more if you worked there, made a difference in the cause and worked toward change?
  3. Ultimately you work for the cause and for your God, not that person.
I guess what I am saying is that your decision on who you are and what you do.  A boss cant change who you are unless you allow them to.

I am not suggesting that this is the right choice for all situations or people.  There are probably numerous examples where the leadership is more extreme and is so objectionable that there is good reason to not work there.

For me it came down to a choice of accepting that this is the leadership and it may have flaws, but those flaws dont outweigh the benefits of working for an org and cause that I believe in.

I would welcome any comments or pushback on this....