The Success Reset: How Past Wins Can Hold You Back (And What to Do About It)
“I left my last job after just a few months, but I think I made a mistake.”
Taylor’s voice was heavy with the weight of the decision she was starting to question.
Taylor thought she'd landed her dream job, but the excitement quickly faded once she realized she couldn't replicate the impact she'd had at her previous company.
During our coaching session, she opened up about her journey:
"I spent several years at a really good company before leaving for what I thought was an exciting new opportunity. I was eager to make an impact, but I struggled to gain traction and started questioning if it was the right place for me. So, I left and returned to my old company—only to realize I may have left the new one too soon. Now, I’m back where I started, but I’m reminded of why I left in the first place."
I asked Taylor about the role she'd been hired into at the company she'd left prematurely; she had been brought on as a consultant.
I followed by asking her what didn't resonate with her once she got there. She shared that the role was fine, she just wanted to do more than just consulting.
"So what kind of work did you want to do that you weren't able to do?"
I asked, and Taylor responded:
"Well at my last company, I created this big infrastructure program and I wanted to replicate that at my new company but they just didn't get it."
When I dug deeper, I discovered that within her first month, Taylor had already started meeting with people to recreate the infrastructure program from her previous company.
Me: "Were you hired to create an infrastructure program?"
Taylor: “No.”
Me: "Was infrastructure part of your team's core focus or priorities?"
Taylor: “No.”
Me: "What kind of research had you done within the company to see if there was a need for this kind of program? Did you assess what similar offers existed before you started proposing new solutions?"
Again, Taylor’s answer was no, and the reason for her struggles was clear:
She hadn't been hired to create an infrastructure program.
It wasn't part of her team's core focus or priorities.
She hadn't done any research to determine if the organization even needed such a program.
This scenario illustrates a pattern I've seen with ambitious professionals. They fall into what I call the hidden trap of past success.
The Hidden Trap of Past Success
Transitioning from one organization to another is challenging, especially when you arrive with valuable experience and high expectations about how you can benefit a new team.
But did you know that the desire to replicate past successes can actually become a barrier to creating new ones?
I've talked with many professionals who spent too much time doing and not enough time listening, often to their detriment.
If you find yourself in a situation similar to Taylor's and want to avoid potential mistakes like leaving a promising opportunity too soon, here are a few valuable strategies to accelerate your integration and impact:
1. Let Your Previous Job Go
Your previous success was contextual. It existed within a specific organizational culture, with specific resources and goals.
Trying to impose the same strategies in a new environment where you weren't brought in to do so often leads to resistance and alienation.
Bring your transferable skills and experiences, but learn the processes and methods of your current organization.
Create space for new possibilities by releasing past approaches. Remember, you took a new role for a reason.
2. Focus on What You Were Hired For
It's natural to want to prove yourself quickly when transitioning into a new position. But rushing to prove yourself without understanding the specific problems your role was designed to address, can lead to misplaced priorities.
Clarify expectations with your manager to understand what success looks like in the first 30, 60, and 90 days.
Find ways to contribute where your unique skills align with immediate needs, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.
Resist the urge to act before understanding the current system.
3. Learn About Your New Organization as Fast as You Can
Culture is the unique way that organizations live out company purpose and deliver on a brand promise to customers.
Every organization has its own unique culture, unspoken rules, and ways of working. Without understanding these, even great ideas can fail.
Recent Gallup research (source) underscores that employees who feel connected to their organization's culture are:
43% less likely to be watching for job opportunities or actively looking for another job
4X more engaged at work.
Prioritize getting an understanding of the company's mission, values, and strategic goals.
Remember, there's always more to learn than to teach initially. Approach your new opportunity with humility and curiosity.
4. Ask Lots of Questions
We've probably all encountered someone who thought they knew everything based on past experience in a different setting.
But when they entered a new environment, they struggled, or even failed, because they never took the time to learn how things actually worked there.
The best way to avoid assumptions that could lead to missteps is to ask questions. This demonstrates:
Curiosity and willingness to learn
Respect for existing knowledge and processes
Desire to understand before suggesting changes
Commitment to organizational integration
Creating Your Next Success Story
Taylor hadn't done these things before leaving her last organization. After our coaching session, she realized that adaptability was a crucial area for her development.
If Taylor had figured out what she needed to know about her new organization and learned it as fast as she could, she would have made a successful transition and likely identified new opportunities that she could lend her expertise to.
The key to success in a new organization isn't just what you know – it's how quickly you can learn. To accelerate your impact:
Let go of what was
Embrace what is
Maintain an open mind that's ready to listen and learn
The faster you climb the learning curve in a new organization, the sooner you can start having meaningful impact and finding your place on the team.
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