How Losing My Dream Job Taught Me The True Meaning Of Leadership

When I was promoted to Assistant Vice President at a leading real estate company, I learned one of my most valuable lessons: looking at situations from a leadership perspective. You see, sometimes we only see things from our own point of view, focused on immediate concerns. But as a leader, you are given the responsibility of seeing the bigger picture: how will your decisions affect the team, how does one team member influence the others, and how to optimize workflow for better productivity and team satisfaction. This mindset has transformed my personal life dramatically. Now, I consciously try to understand how my husband, family, and friends see the world from where they are standing. This shift in perspective helps me become more considerate and, more importantly, deeply compassionate towards others in all my relationships.

Losing my dream job during the pandemic has always been part of my origin story as a marketing trainer and coach-consultant. What I rarely share is that the fallout happened because I was made to choose between work and family—between staying home with my husband and sharing an apartment with co-workers so that we could continue to work on-site. I learned that not everyone values family the same way I do. I learned that some bosses will never understand that not everything is about your job. Maybe I was fortunate to have more understanding leaders in the past, and so that experience was a rude awakening for me. It also made me realize the kind of leader I want to be. I want my team to know that family always comes first, that work-life balance matters, and that compassion is also a strength.

Valerie Fischer, Bonifacio Global City

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