My last day at PepsiCo after a little over 6 years. I would love to say it was a tough decision, but it wasn't. I have know since last spring that PepsiCo wasn't the right place for me anymore. It was a matter of finding the right next step. I remember vividly praying in the car on my ever increasing and tough commute for God to please help guide my path, and I truly believe He has done that.
At the very beginning of 2016, I shared with my supervisor, Adrianne, that my #1 priority was to find a better balance and spend more time with my family and kids. Adrianne was incredibly supportive and I felt positive about starting out the year with a clearly communicated focus on my family. Inside, I knew that I needed to challenge myself to find better balance because I was being drained and if I couldn't find that balance then something was going to have to give. As the year went on, the demands of my job continued to grow and it was impossible to carve out more time for my health and family. A high degree of change in the organization, an increased need for communications and a new leader with high expectations and specific needs was driving up the workload and I could feel myself on the edge. I would come home some days with a knot of anxiety in my chest and tears that threatened to fall at the slightest crack in my emotions. I took things day by day, trusting in God for strength, as I always try to do, but I knew that the situation was not sustainable.
I was sitting at my desk one particularly challenging day feeling overwhelmed and I thought, "If I could work anywhere, where would that be?" And Southwest Airlines came immediately to mind. I had admired the company for years, the Southwest Headquarters are 15 mins from our house and the culture was second to none. So, I went to Southwest.com, saw some Change Management related jobs, and I applied! It was a long story of back and forth, back and forth over the course of 10 months, but I could feel God's hand in my journey and the ongoing conversation with Southwest gave me the hope and courage that I needed to let PepsiCo know that I would be staying until the end of the year to earn my bonus and then I would be leaving the organization. When I told Adrianne the news, I was so nervous but she was gracious and not surprised. She worked with me on a transition plan and I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. The last part of the year was still tough, but with the light at the end of the tunnel I was able to let the tension begin to release and start to pray and focus more on the future.
I told my team the news on Dec. 14 and they made me feel so special. They were sad, but understanding. Leaving the team I had built from scratch was the hardest part, but my heart was crystal clear that I needed to move on and so I was able to say my good-bye's with thankfulness for my time at PepsiCo and excitement for the future. At one point during the good-bye dinner and happy hour, Adrianne said that maybe I should be a little less smiley and a little more sad. Fair enough, but God has so many good things to come that I can't help but smile.
For the record, good-bye to my PepsiCo team - Kelly Trouy, Emma Everid, Peter Litwin, Sarah Henry, Sara Ratliff, Amanda Porter, Melissa Moon, Amy Walsh and Rhonda Carlson. Good-bye to my PepsiCo friends - Adrianne Wright, Amy Dowdy, Jeanie Vachon, Annette Couch, Jen Dema, Byron Johnson, Natalie Browne, Sukshma Rajagopalan and Martha Roos.
