Upside of going from mid-bucket at tier 1 bank to top-bucket at mid-market shop

I spent 5 years at a top tier bank where I was far from the worst but was never going to be a stand out on my team. I was good in the role (nothing more nothing less) but quickly found out that the caliber of my team and the corresponding demand / pressure outpaced my own skill set and desires. 

I initially assumed that the amount of shit I took was just part of the learning curve but by the tail-end I knew I was never going to be a rockstar on that team no matter how hard I tried. Once I solidified myself as “good enough” it became more difficult to differentiate myself from others who frankly were just better and cared more than me. 

An opportunity came up to take a title bump at a smaller mid-market shop but it was with a new team that was looking to build out a presence and team with a portfolio of zero deals when I joined. I figured why not, a bit more of a business development / marketing angle (which I was better at than pushing paper) and I could come in at ground zero and take some ownership in any success we might achieve. 

Fast forward to today and the analogy I like to tell my wife or friends is that I went from a benchwarmer on the 1998 Chicago Bulls where I wasn’t (or ever) going to be a real driving factor for any success and instead opted to take more of a leadership role with a team at the bottom of the playoff picture but where I was immediately viewed (and appreciated) as a star player. 

In all honesty, I do credit any and all success that I’ve been able to achieve in this new role to what I was taught on my previous team… While I wasn’t the best, I was able to transfer and apply the same best-in-class practices that were beat into me as an Analyst/Associate to differentiate myself. It’s almost Stockholm Syndrome because while I hated every second that I worked for my previous MD, I can now (with certainty) say that the higher standard he held me to did in fact make me me a significantly better banker than I would have otherwise been without him… 

Ultimately, a long winded note to say for everything I read here that “if you’re not top bucket in high-finance you’re not truly successful” all I can say is just find your niche… For me, the comp as captain of the 10th seed has been comparable to warming the bench for Jordan / Pippen / Rodman but pairing that with the mental health and confidence boost in the new role has been worth every penny.