When enough is enough, it's time for a change.

Whether it's the onset of the cooler weather, the alignment of the moon with certain stars, or it's just a pure coincidence, there is certainly something in the air prompting people to reassess where they are at in their careers.

I have been speaking to several people over the last few weeks who have displayed similar 'symptoms' in that they have, for whatever reason, suddenly realised "enough is enough; it's time for change".

James has been working for his current employer for quite some time now but feels he doesn't receive any recognition from his manager. "I could just keep dithering there", he said. "Or I could just do something about it and find a company where I will be respected and recognised for the work I do".

Joanne's exact words were, "It's like someone sawed the rudder off the ship. There's no direction given to anyone, management talk around in circles, and nobody seems to know where the business is really going".

When Kyle described how he has been feeling, he described his work environment to be "just like the set of a TV soap opera" where he only recently realised just how caught up in the drama of it all he had become.

James, Joanne and Kyle are all very good at what they do (they work in completely different industries) and they all enjoy the work they do. However their reasons for looking for a new job are all related to the environment they work in.

Throughout my career as a manager, I was always told that “people don’t leave companies; they leave leaders”. Given that it’s the leadership team that create the culture of any organisation, this statement certainly holds true in each of the above scenarios.

Whether it’s the leaders not believing in recognition, the leaders not being able to clearly articulate the direction of the team or business, or the leaders just wanting to be in the spotlight, this will result in good people leaving the business.

So if you feel you are treading water, waiting for things to change, or simply “dithering” (as James put it), you need to think seriously about making a move. Since to continue on with Joanne’s way of thinking, for a leadership team to change the culture of an organisation would be like a cruise ship trying to turn around on a 20 cent coin.

Sometimes the best thing to do is in fact to jump ship.