Sarah Palin’s resignation inspires me
There are a million times we intuitively know what we should be doing in our careers, but the chatter around us makes us question ourselves. Too much. If I have one regret in my career it's that I didn't trust myself more, earlier.
Watching Sarah Palin resign from her governor post in Alaska inspires me to be more brave in my own career. She's running her career in ways I intuitively think we should all be running our careers. And she's reflecting my own experience back to me in a positive way: That breaking new ground is difficult but it pays off.
Here are four new career management ideas that Sarah Palin’s modeling, in an inspiring way, right now:
1. Get out of a job when you’re done doing it
We know that the old ways of managing a career aren't working. But it's so scary to try something new. For example, you know you should job hop, but it's not what careers used to be. And it's scary. People are constantly telling you you'll destroy your career if you job hop.
But Palin is refusing to waste her time in the Alaska governor's office. Who can blame her? It's a lot of small-issue local politics that take away from her establishing big, national-level ideas. Of course quitting a local job is a good idea if you want to run for national office.
But most people who run for national office pretend to still be in their local-level office. When McCain announced he paused his presidential campaign to go back to Congress, he was widely mocked, because really, if you are running for President, you can't be in Congress. But for some reason we have been embracing the bullshit value that it's more important to stay in your job and perform badly than to admit you want to change jobs.
I like that Palin refuses to kowtow to the idea that you have to finish a job just because you started it. There is always someone else who would love the job that you’re leaving out of boredom. This is true of Palin, and all of us as well.
2. Ideas matter, not your resume
We don't need to elect someone based on their resume because the world changes too fast for experience to be a huge factor. On top of that, the internet makes most information available to everyone, so putting in long hours gathering knowledge is not as valuable anymore. Authority isn’t what it used to be — it’s based on what idea you have right now, not what you’ve done in the past.
We should judge people for their ideas, not their experience. I think we know this intuitively, especially young people: At my company, Brazen Careerist, we talk all the time about how your ideas are your resume – and you should aim to be known for your online conversation rather than for your resume.
If you put a resume online, the older people look better than the younger people. But the resume gives a false sense that older means wiser. Palin knows this, so she's not afraid to break resume rules – like leaving a job in the middle, and aiming for a job largely outside of her experience.
3. Careers are built on teams and networks
Today Palin announced that she's building a right-of-center coalition. This should not surprise anyone who uses social media to manage their career, because the career of the new millennium is about connections. A resume of experience is only valuable if the experience creates a network of people who genuinely care about you. Building your personal brand only matters if your brand stands for helping people create value in their lives. And online connections are only good if you are able to translate that to an offline life.
Palin knows all this instinctively. She is ditching the governor's job, which, by nature, is about helping people in Alaska, and she is making herself available to help a wider range of people. So smart. She is campaigning across to help people she respects.
And she's building a team, which makes sense because the best way to sidestep the need for experience is with teams. Entrepreneurs overcome their lack of skills by taking on partners. Middle managers overcome their lack of authority in the hierarchy by building internal coalitions. Palin is doing what we should all do: form teams in order to fast-track our lives beyond our limited experience.
4. No one controls your career except you
She could do what she's supposed to — finish up her job, focus on state-level politics, and talk to the press about ethics problems. But that's not what she wants to do. She isn't complaining that other people are thwarting her. She's not letting them.
So many people complain about being controlled by sexual harassment, unfair treatment, bad bosses, etc. But we each have power to control our own career. We can go where we can do what we want, how we want. We have to take risks to do that, though. We have to believe in ourselves and our own vision for what's best.
Palin does this. She does not make it look easy. She makes it look smart, though. And that might be just what we need to inspire the same bravery in our own careers.
Sarah Palin lost $500,000 of her own money defending herself against groundless ethics charges. She decided, rightly, not to play that game anymore. The people who are criticizing her were never going to vote for her anyway so why bother? Which is exactly what she said… There are millions of us who view her as the perfectly normal, accomplished, intelligent woman she is. She only has to get more votes than her future opponents and she wins. It really is as simple as that.
I agree, as part of generation Y, if something gets boring I have no problems quitting halfw
“Sarah Palin lost $500,000 of her own money defending herself against groundless ethics charges. She decided not to play the game anymore”
John, oh you think that’s why she quit? Really?
So she’s teaching us that if we want to get rid of any politician you can just file ethics charges against them,and they’ll quit?
Oh, and here’s a little secret:
Not all of the ethics charges were groundless, SHE WAS FOUND GUILTY in TrooperGate (abuse of power) and another ethics case was settled when she agreed to reimburse the state. Just an FYI.
Love this post. I agree with your points and I am sad to see so many people who have Palin Derangement Syndrome so badly that they can’t see the “log” in their own eye re: Mr Obama, who had a job but did not work there, instead he ran for office for 2 years.
That my friend is a bad employee, elected or not.
Also I think some of your readers fail to acknowledge that the contentious and brutalizing attacks legally on Gov. Palins by her political enemies throwing frivolous lawsuits at her were sucking up time and money to fight and she could not do her job properly. You points are very well made, and people need to see the logic and level headed practical side of what you said aside from their politics. Nice job, thank you.
Could someone other than Sarah Palin have been used as an “example” particularly when there are so many bright, capable women out there to imitate. Politics aside, this person is not the sharpest pencil in the box and future details may emerge that could indicate she made some bad decisions while governor of Alaska bordering on conflict of interest.
It just hit me for the first time. Penelope is a troll who has inverted the traditional troll modus operandi.
Instead of invading discussion boards with comments designed to inflame, she’s tricked all of us into coming here so we can become inflamed upon reading her “point of view”. And her most frequent “point of view” is simply to take something that is accepted as common sense by those who would read a female entreprenuer’s blog and then force a connection to a concept that the very same audience abhors.
(For those who are not tuned into ‘net culture, here’s a layman’s explanation of trolls: http://bit.ly/v6uS)
Great insight !
Excellent post, P. Lots to consider here and a nice job of laying this out in a “bigger picture” form using a topical example.
Too bad so many people missed the point, choosing instead to wallow in cesspool of political dogma. Aw, what the heck, might as well take a dip myself, right? To all those criticizing Palin for quitting her elected position – where’s your equal outrage for former Senator Barack Obama failing to uphold his term as Senator from Illinois. Especially given the circus which followed.
@Jon,
While not a big Obama fan, he quit his office to become the President, not to write a book and frequent the lecture circuit. How can you not see the difference? Many former presidents had standing political office prior to their election…
Actually Jim, I don’t see the difference.
Are you saying it’s only OK to step down from an elected position to assume a more important position?
The people criticizing Palin are saying she has broken her promise/commitment/oath.
Oh yes, but Obama did the same thing – however, we can forgive him because he “moved up” and all Palin plans on doing is shielding her kids and digging her family out of half a million dollars in debt – how monstrously selfish she must be.
If we could get a brief snapshot of the rapidly spinning needle on your moral compass, I wonder what we might learn?
Perhaps I might find moral justification for abandoning my wife. Now if I just abandon her to go back to a bachelor existence, that would be reprehensible – BUT! – if I can find a sufficiently superior wife – at least 10 years younger and perhaps +2 inches here, -2 inches there and of course she makes more money than the old wife – in that case, using what passes for logic in your world, I would be morally justified in upgrading. How could anyone not see that?
David, this is the way our government has worked from the beginning of time. From Steve C
“There are very formal long-held protocols for moving from one political office to another, removing people from office, even resigning. These are part of an orderly system of government generally known as a representative democracy. It’s how our country runs”
David, where have you been? We know the right loves anti-intellectualism, but you’ll be taking it to an art-form if you can’t recognize the difference between Palin’s actions and Obama’s.
You guys never cease to amaze me.
AMEN
So, David Reese, what exactly are the background conditions you propose for running for and achieving high political office? It sounds like one must be a currently unemployed politician if you are going to run for political office, and you are expected to have any prior experience in government, to be morally acceptable at the same time? Or you must be from a private sector job and terminate your job, or somehow get a leave of absense or sabbatical in order to run for office?
I’m pretty sure that no one complained when Sarah Palin campaigned with McCain for the GOP ticket, while she was still Governor, or if they did, I’m sure the moral majority overlooked it.
Your post really confuses me. Your moral compass/upgrade example seems to be a justification for what Sarah Palin is doing, not what Obama has done.
How’s the pot-harvest going up there in Wasilla these days, by the way?
Steve C.
Several of you seem to be having trouble parsing the morality of her decision to leave. The core argument seems to be that resigning from her office is harming the state.
Let us Set aside for the moment, the absurdity that the people who say this loudest seem to be the people who like her least.
People are saying that Palin resigning from AK Gov. harms the Alaskan people but Obama resigning from the IL state house does not harm the people of IL and the reason it does not harm them is because he MOVED UP.
What I am saying is that IF a harm is created by a person leaving this office before their term ends, then whether you go to the private sector or a higher level government job, neither makes any difference and neither mitigates the harm created by leaving early.
It’s a stupid double standard that exists to bludgeon Palin for abdication and laud Obama for getting a promotion. Any such judgment is based on an arbitrary valuation of all the involved factors and stake holders.
And I would not know what the pot situation is like in Wasilla. I left over 20 years ago so I am sure a lot has changed but I suspect there are people growing pot in your area by now.
I just read your excellent post on cash-flows and perused on over here. WOW! What a community of passionate readers. And, I can see why. You wrote a great post here. The principles here are excellent, articulated convincingly and in a personal voice.
But the example you use is quirky.
The voters of Alaska equate with the voters in your startup. They invested in her vision like your investors invest in yours. Would it be any smarter if next week you announced you were abruptly done here, because you wanted to save your company your salary or if you announced that your contract was only for 4 years and heck everyone knows after 2 a CEO only coasts…? (Let’s forget about her reference to being a lame-duck governor when she didn’t qualify as one.) I don’t think so.
And given her recent post in the Washington Post it’s clear it’s not her ideas she’s pursuing. It’s the ideas of others who pay her better than the state of Alaska to promote their ideas. But if money is your gig, then it’s a good idea to leave state government now.
But again, the principles, not the example you used to illustrate them, and how you organized this post were excellent. I’ll continue to subscribe.
Wow. This is so right on the money, Penelope.
Your thoughts on bravery in relation to career make sense to me. But from the reporting I’ve heard on it, I’m not sure Palin’s resignation is a good illustration?
I haven’t gone out of my way to follow the story, but in what I have heard, there’s been criticism based on the idea that she’s too early in her term for her claim to be a “lame duck” to add up and on the fact, according to what I’ve heard, that while politicians often leave posts for better opportunities, they don’t usually quit in the middle of their job. So what I’ve heard calls her judgment into question.
I am a new reader to the blog and think that you are on target with so many things, except this post. Palin dropped out of college four times (or more depending on which news source you read) and seems to lack the dedication towards anything except feeding her own ego and getting pregnant. coupled with the ethics violations she may be serving time for (check out the latest news)her ‘resignation’ is more a cop out and coward’s way out. Even Bush Jr. finished his governorship term.
David.
Well, I do live in California, so I guess everyone knows what the pot situation is around here.
I certainly don’t think that what Sarah Palin did will harm Alaska. On the contrary, I think she probably did the state a favor, in both the long and short run. I think it’s obvious that she has decided that holding elected public office is not her calling, because her actions are just not logically consistent with aspiring to continue to do so. Maybe you can make some kind of an argument to the contrary, but I can’t.
With Sarah Palin, it’s pretty hard to figure out what is really going on in her mind because all we have to go by is what comes out of her mouth, and I think it’s fair to say that there is some question as to whether or not she is even the one putting those words there in the first place. Her recent article in the Washington Post seems to confirm that opinion.
I find it hard to believe that, here we have this very public and divisive person making what is arguably the most critical decision of her life, at least in terms of future political aspirations, beset on all sides by lawsuits from practically everyone but her household help, $500,000 in debt with no end in sight yet, and what is foremost on her mind and the area she is focusing on at the moment? The proposed Cap and Trade policy of the Obama administration? Who in their right mind would be thinking about a proposed energy policy under those circumstances, other than someone with severe psychological issues. I mean, come on, really?
Obama’s actions, moral or otherwise, are so far removed from Sarah Palin’s, it’s like comparing driving across town to making a round-trip to Mars. The radical right can have her; I don’t think she is going to be doing much more than preaching to the choir. The great majority of people in the country may find her of interest from time to time, but as far as having any real influence on the future of the country, her 15 minutes of fame have come and gone
Steve C.
Inspires you to be a …. quitter?
Most of her problems were self-created. She craved the public stage, and hired a publicist at taxpayer expense to get there. She turned out to be utterly unqualified for VP, with a dysfunctional family life. Surprise – the press had a field day with it! Now she is a poor martyr, quitting for the good of the state? Give me a break! She got what she wanted (attention to feed a narcissistic personality), but it did not quite turn out as she expected.
If you find any of this inspiring, you have my condolences.
The only thing inspiring about Palin is that she’s proof that really stupid people can come close to being vice -president. For those of you that like her, do you really listen to her speak? Even in her last two speeches, I could not fathom why anyone would want her as a leader. DShe quit because the pressure of ridicule was too much when it exposed her for the incompetent she is.
I could not agree more. I look up to Sarah Palin for what she has accomplished very much. While I may not agree with all of her ideas, I think she is a great role model for women and girls everywhere who want to make a difference in the world. Even though people keep trying to put her down, she never backs away from doing what she wants to do. I’m just starting college in two weeks and women like her are very inspiring to me in my educational and career goals.
Sarah Palin was elected to govern her state for a term, not to quit partway through. Next she may ask Americans to elect her as President. Huh? If I were a Dean of Graduate Studies at a university, I would not be likely to accept a candidate who had failed to complete their Bachelor’s degree because they got bored, or wanted to focus on something else, or whatever. And I would not be likely to respect someone who managed to get accepted by quitting then ‘building a team’. On a different but related point, you mention the internet as replacing knowledge and experience. Are you kidding? You can garner facts from the internet; you cannot marshal them. Age and experience do not guarantee wisdom, but there’s a strong correlation that the community ignores at its peril. Overall, I think you are putting way too much stock in popularity and the moment and not nearly enough in hard work, persistence and commitment. Sarah Palin is not an example I would recommend.
"But Palin is refusing to waste her time in the Alaska governor's office."
She already did what she can for Alaska so Sarah Palin has the license to do what she pleases.
This list of comments was so long that I must confess I couldn’t read all of them. Maybe somebody else has made this point. I’m just wondering — in terms of career advice, what about the concept of over-reaching, which Sarah Palin has clearly done? Is a brazen careerist’s goal to simply get as far as one can despite one’s personal limitations? Is it admirable to block-headedly pursue a level of power to which one is not equal, simply because one has been encouraged by Republicans with their own agendas? We are all good at different things. Sarah Palin is probably good at driving to hockey rinks. Understanding the complexities of local, state, national and international politics is obviously beyond her, just as it is beyond many of us. But then most of us aren’t so conceited that we believe otherwise. I think we’re the ones to be commended on our wisdom, not Palin.
I love your blog but I can’t stand this post. I know being a liberal from the Northeast makes it hard for me to deal with anything related to Palin… I find her very name abhorrent , her morals hypocritical and her preparation for any higher office questionable– if not absent. If “managing” your career enables you to get to a higher office without the skills and knowledge, this is just plain scary!!! not admirable — it’s like getting a higher score on your SAT’s because your parents paid $4,000 to help you do it – you aren’t “smarter”, you just strategize. In the end, all this does is make everything a farce — God help us all!
I love your first point “Get out of a job when you are done doing it.” I am making a career choice right now that may seem incongruous in our tough job market times (leaving a good one,) but I am DONE doing it, and every day is like torture. Perhaps SP felt the same way . . who knows. All I know is I cannot continue to ignore my true passion!
Not only is Sarah in charge of her own career, she owns most of you here spewing hate for her. You do not know Sarah! What you think you know about her has been manipulated by the media and the tunnel-vision liberals. You try so hard to be “smart” and career focused, yet you are just average. Your rhetoric is the same as what’s being printed in the newspaper. You don’t think, you only regurgitate.
Do any of you live in Alaska? Word is up there that her kids are frankly “out of hand” and baby daddy hubby ain’t doing such a good job on his own. I hope to god she quit to deal with them before they have more children at young ages. Heard Willow is slugging vodka at parties,among other things. People have completely lost touch with reality. Some people quit because their personal lives get completely out of hand. And, that should be commended. You are not much worth to anyone or anything if you are a complete mess. Ahhhh the speculation about that resignation.
Jeez, what are people so upset about?
Sarah Palin quit because she saw that she would be ineffective as governor of Alaska. She had already fought 13, count’em THIRTEEN frivolous ethics charges filed by Democrats to harass her and won with all of the charges being dismissed. The Dems filing the charges were out to ruin her financially and politically. Resigning was the best choice. When you let your opponents define the rules of the game, you lose. Sarah stepped out of all that.
Even better, she was able to take advantage of her time in the spotlight to write a book and set herself up for life (just as Obama did, the Clintons did, etc.). Now she doesn’t have to worry about money or being hamstrung by rules that put her at the mercy of her detractors.
You may not like Palin or what she stands for, but her decision-making here was both courageous and spot-on. She may not ever run for office again, and if she does she may not win… but if she had remained governor she would have been bankrupted and then driven from office in disgrace when she could no longer afford to defend herself.
If her Democrat opponents had been smart they would have left her mostly alone, and she would have been stuck in Alaska out of the political spotlight and soon forgotten. Her option would have been to either re-run for governor, or retire back as a housewife. Now she’s independently wealthy, and she is injecting herself into races where she believes she can make a difference… and if she is right she will be a formidable presence with a lot of political clout.
I think that her resignation was the right choice for her. After gaining that much momentum from the presidential election, she couldn’t just sit up in Alaska and waste precious time with so many opportunities abound. She is one busy woman, I wonder if she will run for President next time around, I think she might have a good shot at winning.