A father was on his deathbed but before he died, he took his daughter aside and said: "I'm giving you this watch that was your grandfather's. It's almost 200 years old. Go to the local jewelry shop and ask them how much they would pay you for it.” The dutiful daughter did as her father asked and went to a local jewelry shop. She returned to her father and said: "They will take $100 for the watch because of how old it is."
The father then said: "Now take it to the local pawn shop and see how much they think it's worth". The daughter again followed her father's instructions and went to the pawn shop. She reported back to her father that the pawn shop would only pay her $20 as the watch was scratched.
The father then asked her to travel to the museum to find out how much they thought it was worth. At this point, the daughter was starting to doubt if her father still had all his senses but as a loyal daughter she did as her father asked. The curator at the museum told the daughter that the watch was a rare historical piece and that they would offer her $375,000 to include it in their historical collection.
She hurried back to her father to share the news. Her father sat up in his bed and said: "I wanted to show you that the right place will value you in the right way. Don't find yourself in the wrong place and be angry if you feel you aren't valued. You need to speak up for yourself. And don't stay in a role where someone doesn't see your value, or where you don't feel appreciated".
Why did I tell you that story?1 I told you that story so I could tell you this one about myself. Early in my career I was managing a team member and my manager at the time wanted to give me the title of "team lead". I pushed back and asked for the manager title. I knew my worth and recognized that this was a manager role with manager responsibilities. Besides, someone else in the organization was in a similar role and had the manager title. Truthfully, I wasn't ready to be a manager, but the title was important to me. I didn't settle and I was given the title of manager.
Later in my career I wanted to seek out new CS leadership opportunities, so I moved my family from Toronto to the NYC area. This was a massive risk and took a tremendous toll on myself and my family, but I knew my value and had faith in my abilities. There have been other times when I didn't feel valued or appreciated but before I did anything, I evaluated the situation to determine why I felt that way, how I needed to change and what was best for myself and my family in the long term. I sought out advice from others before I made any rash decisions. I knew my worth and knew that if I wasn’t happy, I needed to make a change.
I want to remind you that you are talented. You are unique. You may not be in the right role, or you may be looking for that right role. Whatever the case, evaluate your own situation. Ask yourself if you feel valued. Look inwards. Talk to your manager if you can. Seek out advice. But don't settle. Find people that value you and your abilities. You are worth it.
This story was taken directly from this John Eades podcast.
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