“Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.”
– Kahlil Gibran
The “firing” of Gen. Stanley McChrystal as the top commander in Afghanistan war is a classic example on how not to behave toward your superior while on the job. It is best that what you say in private, and what you say in public is consistent and however bad you feel about your superior is best kept to your most trusted confidante. As President Obama aptly said in his speech, “I encourage debate but not division”. Indeed, in spite of the evolution of organization through decades, there is still good value to the traditional “unity of command”.
How is this relevant to your career development? As they say, if you cannot stand the heat in the kitchen, get out. You always have a choice to find the environment that would work for you but so long as you are working for your organization and your company, it deserves your loyalty and respect. Keep your personal feelings at bay. When nurtured and shared, ill feelings grow in strength and affect your motivation to work and have the power to push you in the brink of irresponsible behavior. This process could be very subtle and gradual that there is danger to put yourself in a position of vulnerability and it might be too late before you realize the writing on the wall.
Needless to say, however, that your personal feelings about your work and about your organization are essential to your personal process of reevaluating your priorities, your passion, and your values. Listen to your heart when it comes to reviewing your career moves. They tell you the truth and they will guide you in your career decisions. They play a key role in the situation analysis that you should conduct as part of periodic review of your strategic career plan.
