How to Make a Difficult Decision in a Crisis?

Changing professions and jobs is difficult in the normal case, so how if it coincides with a global crisis, where many people made difficult decisions during the pandemic, especially women, although I did not face a fateful decision such as choosing between family, profession or anything else; The difficulty lies in having to make a self-decision based on professional competence, it was not easy, but it finally paid off, and I want to share that story and what I learned from it.

Note: This article is based on the work of the writer Sharon Harris, in which she tells us about her experience in overcoming the obstacles she faced when changing her job during the coronavirus pandemic.

I have worked with Deloitte for many years, a company that provides clients with a wide range of audit, insurance, advisory, financial advisory, project risk, and tax services.

Their client service teams help create powerful business solutions for organizations operating anywhere in the world. Having recently upgraded my business, I'm responsible for Google Marketing, Google Cloud Storage, and Google Cloud Archiving worldwide.

This upgrade enabled me to work with the tech industry's most intelligent and innovative people. It also provided me with the company's essential position, which means that I was contributing to a billion-dollar business, and this in itself is a wonderful feeling, especially for someone whose beginnings were modest and who did not traditionally get the job.

But I got the chance of a lifetime when the company Jellyfish, where I now work, offered me a large position. He is the global marketing officer (CMO) in the company. I always wondered if I had the qualifications to fill such a high position. This opportunity was the job of my dreams it may seem to you as if it was the easiest decision to make, is it reasonable to refuse the job of my dreams, I accepted the offer, but making this choice was challenging for several reasons, mostly related to the pandemic.

Because of the pandemic, everything was in flux, so my acceptance of this offer - amid instability, at a time when people are searching for certainty in their lives - was illogical and ungrateful because I had already seen it happen at Deloitte.

I knew that making a big transition in the chaos of the pandemic would not be easy. I wondered if I would succeed and what would happen if I did not. In the usual working conditions, I would have accepted the offer immediately, but the circumstances were not at all favorable; So I needed the confidence to leap, so I thought about it and gained the confidence to look at this big position and here's what I learned:

How to make tough decisions in times of crisis?

1. Betting on your abilities

Starting a new job is difficult, especially if the work is done remotely without real meetings with your colleagues, having to deal daily with the same people without noticing their facial expressions or body language, and moving from London to Australia and the west coast of the United States by a time difference is very stressful.

Of course, taking on big marketing tasks amid the biggest turbulence of the century is very difficult; after all, I didn't carry the burden of the job or people's words or inability to trust anything within this widespread disorder; in fact, the obstacles are often yourself, your skills and attitudes and your abilities.

Make sure that no matter how difficult your decision or the challenge you face, you undoubtedly have what it takes to reach the top. You cannot bet on circumstances because opportunities often do not favor you. Instead, bet on yourself, your skills, and your ability to overcome any difficulty.

2. Thinking about the future is your most precious asset

Even before starting my first day with Jellyfish, I had a detailed 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day plan of what I wanted to achieve at the company to reach that goal, I had to face myself with some serious questions: What would success look like if I took this job? What would failure look like? How will I deal with the new circumstances in a way that benefits the organization and me?

It doesn't matter if you're thinking of taking on a senior management position, getting a second job, resigning to stay home with the kids, or having another life problem; it's helpful to take some time to study the situation, discuss the potential consequences and impact on you, and the value of the plan is not in sticking to it; it's in its ability to highlight the starting steps or obstacles that lie ahead, as former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower put it. Eisenhower said, “Plans have little meaning; planning is everything.”

3. The Importance of Setting Boundaries

Women, in particular, have a long history of sacrifices to make their careers commensurate with their personal lives. Progress towards equality between women and men certainly has been made. Still, for example, it is very common for women to sacrifice their careers to take on family tasks, and the pandemic has made it more difficult.

In this context, it is helpful to set some boundaries for two strong reasons; first, because they are like yellow lines on both sides of the road or those bumps that warn you of vibration when you are off track, and when you set fixed boundaries, you know when they are breached, and this means potential danger.

If you have yet to set boundaries, the lines between your life and career are blurry. Second, boundaries create a scope that is as flexible as possible. Flexibility helps you overcome challenges and cross paths you've never taken, still within the boundaries you've drawn.

In conclusion

Regardless of how things go and the choice between two things that are both important to you, personally, I can say: Job satisfaction is a difficult task to achieve, and I'm very grateful that the choice was in my hands; I don't want to be closely compared to other women - or people in general - who have had to make more tough decisions.

However, there are some similarities worth exploring and lessons worth studying, and it is an honor to use this platform to help and encourage others, regardless of what they may face. So, the bottom line is: to trust yourself, be vigilant, know your priorities, stick to your values, and draw untouchable boundaries. With planning and preparation, significant achievements will follow.