Have you – or someone on your team – ever worked tirelessly to create and launch a new program, system, or process only to see it fizzle out? Yet, you put so much time and effort into the planning, preparation, communication, and support to increase the potential of its success. Yay, me too!
“Trust the timing of everything. Just because it isn’t happening right now doesn’t mean it never will.”
– Unknown
In my mid-twenties I began a fruitful and tenured career with Walmart Canada. Since I’ve already declared turning 50 this year that would narrow down the time frame to the late 1990s. There was an apparent need and benefit to evolving a legacy hourly admin role at store-level into a contributing member of the management team focusing on HR. I built a slamdunk business case that was approved and created a well thought out plan for a pilot of the new role. Determined to demonstrate the value and expand the pilot I poured my heart and soul into working with the pilot stores. Evolution was naturally pointing to the direction we were headed; management needed it, associates needed it, our future growth plans needed it. And yet, the pilot started to fade. Expansion became a passing thought. All those carefully crafted plans and benefits were left on printed paper within a binder that was retired to a shelf. This might be an appropriate place in my story for a melodramatic sigh.
I recall sitting in my leader’s office, humbled and admittedly feeling a bit rejected. “Where did I go wrong? What did I miss?” were questions I posed. Paul was an experienced and wise leader whom I deeply admired and graciously learned from. His response was genuine, full of honesty and care. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It was a great plan, a plan that was executed with passion and determination. You didn’t miss anything that inadvertently derailed the pilot. Yes, this is the direction we need to go and the role is needed among our store management teams. The company, and more specifically store operations, just isn’t ready for this progressive move yet.” Plain and simple. At the same time it was a lot to sit with and learn from because I had not experienced what felt like rejection or even failure before. Everything in my early career days had been full of forward momentum. How was I supposed to retire a much needed proposal and plan? What do I do now? Well, my leader guided me with a gentle nudge to let it go and to focus on what was moving forward. Eventually, the rhythms returned and other meaningful inputs materialized.
A few years later, I returned from my first maternity leave to learn that there was a full blown initiative underway to introduce store-level and district-level HR management roles. Fantastic! When I met the newly hired lead on the project, he had my binder; he’d read through my copious proposal and plans. And so came the question, “What happened back then? It’s all here in this binder.” Having learned to accept that there is a time and place for everything, that business decisions are just that, I simply responded with “It wasn’t the right time.”
Earlier this year I shared a blog about leaders having to say no to great ideas. I didn’t know this at the time, but I experienced it back in the late 1990s – and several times since. Thanks to a wonderful and caring leader I learned and I grew from the experience so that I can now help others to look at the bigger picture, refrain from taking things personally, and keep moving forward for the benefit of all.
– Melissa Law
