If there’s one person in the world right now whose job no one is envious of, it’s Theresa May. Tasked with finding a suitable solution for a problem that will have a profound impact on so many people and processes (the existence of which she voted against to begin with) she now faces the likelihood of being the bad guy no matter what the outcome – because that is her job.
In every business, there are people who have responsibilities that are unsavoury, to say the least. HR professionals have to conduct disciplinary meetings and perhaps even let people go and line managers may have to have an awkward conversation addressing a team member’s poor performance. An accounting team may be in the office until all hours during month-end and a marketing department may have to answer to senior stakeholders as to why an expensive ad campaign yielded little to no change in sales.
There are few, if any, professions or lines of work that don’t have some unappealing features and difficult patches but the hope is that the benefits will outweigh the struggles. For every long and exhausting month-end there is the possibility of pay rises and promotions to roles with a better work-life balance and for every failed marketing campaign there’s boundless opportunity to be creative and fulfilled in your career choice. For every unpleasant conversation between management and junior employees there are strong relationships built and glowing references given for future opportunities.
Theresa May is most certainly facing what is likely one of most difficult parts of her job at the moment – but if she succeeds it will surely contribute to building on people’s respect for her as a political leader and further pave the way for women in power. No job is perfect or easy – hers definitely isn’t – but the successes in our careers are made all the better from overcoming the struggles.
