Dear Leader,
We begin a new week.
I trust this letter meets you in pursuit of wisdom.
Someone once asked me if prayer was a career strategy? I didn’t know how best to answer than to share my story.
When I moved into Port Harcourt some time last year, I got a call from someone in the HR department of a very known brand that operates in different states in Nigeria but has their head office here in Port Harcourt.
The conversation was about an opening they have and that they have looked through my profile and someone recommended that they speak with me about the role.
Even though I wasn’t really interested in a new role, the conversation didn’t take long because it seemed they had done their background checks on me. They wanted me to resume immediately because according to them, the role was very urgent.
But I had a restrain in my spirit even though the offer was good, so I gave it some more days to think (actually to pray) about it.
One morning, I woke up and I knew I had to reject the offer because my spirit just didn't agree.
I had communicated with the organisation that I wouldn't be interested but they thought it was because of the pay, so they increased it. I still rejected it.
This conversation dragged almost till like the end of last year but for me, a decision was made. No rational explanation. EOD.
Fast forward to 2024, the Head of HR from that same organisation called me to tell me he had resigned. In short, he explained how two of their top HR leaders had to resign as well, in less than a month.
Of course, I didn’t know why until we became friends after he no longer worked with the organisation and then he exposed to me how toxic the organisation was. It was bad.
Then it all occurred to me that If i had joined the organisation at that time, It would have been a bad move.
So, connect the dot backwards. At that time, I may not have known why I had that restraint not to move, but today, It’s all clear.
So, is prayer a career strategy? It depends on you.
But what I know for sure from my experiences and experiences of other people is that “how much an organisation wants to pay you” should not be the only factor to consider when deciding to accept a job.
Look beyond the physical. Don’t ignore what your spirit says. It may not make sense in a moment, but after sometime, it will all connect well.
So in summary, on this your career and leadership journey, don’t ignore the leading of the spirit.
To be spiritually sensitive is a career strategy!
I’m rooting for you,
Great Owete