As my Dad used to tell me, "Sometimes things happen for a reason. You may not find out what the reason is right away." My father was a very wise person, and I miss him dearly.
As I wrote last week, going back into property management is something I look forward to doing and PM is something I have a passion for. Going a few months with interviews and being told I was "one of two candidates we have narrowed our search down to," was becoming familiar and in some ways frustrating. Being told I was "over qualified," knowing if I was looking for someone I would rather have over qualified than under qualified was also a hard pill to swallow. But, I remember back to what my father said and continue on.
This week I was provided an offer for a position, and a favorable offer considering the task and compensation. It was also with a very well known and respected company in the industry, and they made multiple efforts to encourage me to come on board with their team. Unfortunately, there were a couple of things that made the decision difficult and one stumbling block that weighed heavily on my decision to decline the offer. As I told them, I did not take the decision lightly and even though I am anxious to get back to work full time had to respectfully decline.
Leaders make decisions and one critical trait of a successful leader is being decisive. When talking with my wife and with friends I have in the industry, the question was raised related to the decisions made and where does the basis for the decision fall if personal or professional? Tough question, as a former co-worker told me but then reminded me leadership is also about respect for oneself as well as for others. Never ceases to amaze me how friends can help us see things in a new light, even when we know where the switch is all the time.
None of us knows what the future holds except for the decisions we make and how they impact our future. Was this the right decision? Time will tell, and second guessing can only cloud our perception and possibly have an impact on the next decision we are faced with. Sometimes your heart says one thing, while your head leads you in another direction. There again maybe that is why God gave us one of each, and we would probably look really strange with two heads anyway. I remain confident I will find the right position with the right company, and I am also confident in my ability as a leader. That coupled with loving family and friends is what carries me through, facing the future with optimism and determination another opportunity to make another decision will be in my future. Kind of sounds like leadership when we talk about optimism and determination, following the passion for what i love to do....lead others to greatness. The only fear we should have is not finding the courage to make the decision both personally and professional, and I look forward to the next chapter in the revolving book of life. As I said at one of my conferences I was presenting on leadership, I would rather have one of my managers make the wrong decision than no decision at all. After all we can learn from our decisions both right and wrong, we learn nothing from inaction.
