Latest / The Talent Brief / Why We Stay Too Long
Transcript
- Jeff Ganter: This week on the talent brief, I want to talk about something I've seen countless times throughout my career. People rarely get stuck because they don't know. They get stuck because they know and they stay away. I've watched candidates accept jobs they weren't excited about. I've watched leaders stay in organizations long after their energy was gone. I've watched people stay in relationships, partnerships. And commitments that no longer fit who they are becoming. What's fascinating is that when you talk to them later, almost all of them say the same thing. I knew. Not with certainty, not with proof, but with a signal. A hesitation, a loss of energy, a growing sense that something wasn't aligned. The signal wasn't the problem, the script was. Because the moment a signal shows up, a script usually follows. Don't be dramatic. Everybody feels this way. You've invested too much to walk away now. Maybe next year we'll be different. And suddenly the conversation isn't about what you're feeling. It's about defending why you should ignore it. That's what makes Signals versus scripts so powerful. Signals are information. Scripts are interpretation. Signals tell you something is changing. Scripts tell you to stay where you are. The challenge is that staying feels safer even when it's making you miserable. Because uncertainty feels risky. But here's what I've learned. The longer we ignore a signal, the louder it becomes. What starts as discomfort often becomes frustration, then resentment, then burnout. Not because life is punishing us, because the signal never stopped trying to get our attention. One of the hardest coaching questions I ask people is this What have you known for a while? That you're still trying to negotiate with. That's usually where the work begins. Not in finding clarity. Not in admitting clarity already exists. Maybe not completely, but enough. Enough to start paying attention. Enough to ask better questions. Enough to stop pretending. You don't know what you're already what you've already noticed. This week, pay attention to where you keep asking for more proof. You might not need more proof. You might need more trust. Because sometimes the signal isn't asking you to make a decision today. It's simply asking you to stop arguing with what you already feel. Thanks for listening to the talent brief. I'm Jeff Gantor. See you soon. Bye.