Home > Career> Yonda Poslavsky In 'Dear Yonda...'

Yonda Poslavsky in 'Dear Yonda...'

Mon 01 February 2010

, Yonda Poslavsky, Labour Psychologist

In this week’s ‘Dear Yonda’ a LEAP member who wishes to remain anonymous writes: ‘...I’ve been eying the job for the past 3 years, as it first went to a male colleague. Having had the promotion, I’m beginning to wonder why I got the position now. At first, I blamed my doubts on anxiety, but I get the feeling I was set up. The Board appointed my predecessor while I was better qualified. Three months on, I’m looking for a way out. How do I tell the CFO?’

Dear Yonda,
I started as a management trainee and have worked my way through various management positions to my current job as vice president of a business unit. It’s as close as I’ve ever come to my ultimate goal, the executive board. The job should be fun and exciting and I’ve been eying it for the past 3 years, as it first went to a male colleague. Having had the promotion, I’m beginning to wonder why I got the position now. At first, I blamed my doubts on anxiety, but as time goes by, I get the feeling I was set up. The Board appointed my predecessor while the Board members knew I was better qualified. 
Shortly after I started, I realised the division had underperformed beyond imagination. Three months on, I’m looking for a way out. I don’t want the board to question my competence, but I can’t get the job done either. And to be honest, I think I’m too good to be cleaning up after someone else. 
Was this indeed a set-up or am I being insecure? And how do I tell the CFO how I feel without coming across as weak and incompetent?

Dear Anonymous,
Sorry to hear that the job you were striving for, is not what you thought it would be. There are a couple of things however, which strike me in your question.  First you aimed for this promotion for a very long time (3 years!). Could it be that you have idealized the role? Did you picture a realistic idea of what you could expect in this role? 
When you say you don’t feel good about cleaning up after someone else, I doubt whether you had the right ideas about the job. If the business unit had been running smoothly, probably the Board would not have looked for a new vice president. This brings me to the following: look at the situation differently. You are not too good to clean up a mess; you are just very good or good enough in cleaning up messes. Take it as a compliment that you are asked for this specific function, because the Board thinks you’re capable of bringing the business unit back on track.

Yonda’s advice
On many occasions we see that women in senior management positions don’t experience work pleasure, due to insecurity about their own performance. As a result they stagnate in their career development. This phenomenon is acknowledged as an important factor in what is called the ‘glass ceiling’. 

Dear Anonymous, please don’t walk away from your job, put aside your insecurity and write an excellent analysis about the performance of the business unit and a brand new plan for the future. Don’t stay in the past, focus on the future and write down the opportunities you see for the business unit and the terms you need to realize the potential of the business unit.

Use the knowledge and wisdom from your past successes, - I’m sure there are many. Describe where you are today, where you are heading and what you need to get there. If you present yourself to the CFO with a solid plan for the business unit, you show that you are ready for the seriously big jobs!