I dressed up in a nice shirt and tie for my final sales leadership interview with a member of our executive team. The office was very casual, so I looked out of place, but “dressing up” felt the right approach to show my excitement for the role. A few minutes before the interview, his assistant told me we’d have to reschedule. I dressed up again the next day. I felt a little bit silly and received a few comments, but it was an important day in my career. A few minutes before the interview, his assistant told me we needed to reschedule again. I dressed up for a third time. I remember waiting near my desk right before we met - I could see him in a conference room. He was sitting casually, laughing, and scrolling on his phone, so I was surprised when I got the Gchat from his EA saying, “He’s caught up and can’t meet today.” Maybe he really was caught up. Or, maybe he didn’t want to “waste” his time interviewing a junior potential leader. Regardless of the reason, the interview never happened. I moved into the role without having the conversation. I’ll never forget how crappy it felt to be so excited/nervous for a meeting with an exec only to see it move twice and then cancel. I felt pretty unimportant - not only did the meeting never happen, but he never bothered acknowledging the situation. I’ve made tons of mistakes as a leader. I’ll make plenty more. I’m sure many people could write stories about mistakes I’ve made. But I hope to never act “too important” for SDRs, AEs, and aspiring leaders in my organization for two reasons: 1) It’s a silly way to live (no one in the real world cares what your title/level is) 2) You can’t build a winning culture if execs don’t invest in more junior employees This story reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: “You aren’t better than anyone else, but you aren’t worse, either.” So this week, don’t act like you are better than anyone. And certainly, don’t feel like you are any worse.
What a terrible experience. Did you stay around long after?
Truly thought you were gonna say you showed up in jeans and then landed the interview. Ha.
Love this line: “You aren’t better than anyone else, but you aren’t worse, either.”
I feel your embarrassment.
I know the feeling of just getting dressed for an important meeting and people just don't even care about your time , they feel their time is time, not yours, just because you're a junior. Being humble and always remembering where we came from never let our ego come into the picture, and do our best for others, regardless of their title.
I remember how a leader showed up 15 minutes late for a 30 minute interview and didn’t seem to care. So I stopped trying and gave up on that role. It’s wild how much of an impact your seemingly small actions can have on the humans you lead.
Koen Stam
2w
As a leader we are gifted in our position in which we are in... but we should NEVER NEVER forget where we are coming from.. And in the end we are all equal, regardless experience, job title, salary or fancy suit 😎 ✌
That’s a great story I think a lot of us can relate to. Be a leader, not just a manager. Reminds me of a similar quote: “If you’re too big for the small things, you’re too small for the big things.”
People like that suck Kyle Asay - one thing we always remember is how someone made us feel. I don’t care how old or young or senior we are.
Staff Solutions Engineer at LaunchDarkly
1wWhen I was just getting started at my first Big Kid Job, I got in early one day and started making coffee. This intimidating (to me), snappy dressing exec walked in about the same time, started also making coffee, and said something like "so YOU'RE the other person who refills the machines around here!" He took the time to chat with me, and afterward I'd consistently notice him doing the little things like wiping up spills, picking up garbage, etc. It left a lasting impression that you're never too big for the little stuff! Charlie Vanek hope you're doing well, man. :)