Earlier this year, my boss told me that I would not be a good people manager [note to self - get new job / boss]. This really bothered me. I realize that people have varied perceptions, but this felt like getting a "N" on my kindergarten grade card in "plays well with others".
Prior to January of last year, I was managing as many as three Training Assistants at once and thinking that I was very successful. All three have since been promoted to Training Specialist, yet I'm pretty sure that If I was told being a boss was a no-go ....other managers in the company were too.
I can make myself feel better by approximating my current role with their new boss, but If I want to go "up" - I'll have to go out. This is not new news; I've blogged about at least one of my almost jobs in past few months. And the frustrating thing is I'm not even sure if I should leave the company. Whether I do stay or go, I'm going to have to change some things. I call it my Good / Better / Best plan:
Good: Change Roles - this means changing the part of the business that I support and working on another from within the same team.
Better: Change Jobs - this would be applying for another position in the company, getting a new manager etc. etc.
Best: Change Companies - find a nice little place, near the house, that I can walk into with a good deal of experience and move up.
I had an unofficial conversation with another manger yesterday about this (of course, only the Good / Better plan) and it felt really good to admit that I was very unhappy. I've always heard that you should be up front with your employer about what you want - this makes me nervous though since they may just decide that they want me gone. I trust the person I talked with and believe that they will help me with my biggest challenge in switching jobs internally - getting someone else to do my job.
7 comments:
I know you have struggled with this for the past year, I hope that all works out. REALLY I do! :) I feel helpless not being able to help you. :(
I hope this works out to. I wish the best for my friends.
From my world of experience, employers like to keep you happy and if changing roles would help they are all for it. Again, those are issues that are discussed in my annual reviews and the Arch world may be different.
I actually understand this quite a bit. I would probably not have bothered with attempting to get an MBA if I thought that I could ever progress the career direction I wanted without it. Now I just have to wait five or six years to see anything come of it.
I hope things move faster for you.
I've enjoyed reading your blog entries during this stressful time in your work environment - they've always reflected your clever zest for life and have never been depressing... you've seemed to manage pretty well!
Honesty is the best policy. I need to be more upfront on how I feel about my job. I have been training someone to do my job when I am on maternity leave. She can't stand our boss and probably quit yesterday when I was gone on vac. So, I am going to have to train someone else most likely.
This is completely unrelated to the topic for this post.
Not to be a jerk or anything, but I am in a warm, dry, comfortable hotel in Topeka right now watching the Weather Channel, and it appears that Dash and T might be getting a tad wet in a tent in Cameron at the moment. So long as there are no funnel clouds I think I may enjoy any stories that may come of this. Okay, I am being a jerk. :)
I am in the awkward position now of a new boss. You want to please and be approved of, and prove that yes, I can do what I am asked. But on the other hand, I want to be honest, but I am not. I want to say - you're giving me joe jobs and that's not my forte. Give me a break. I really don't want to "pay my dues" again at 38 yrs, but looks like I may have to. I need more guts.
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