It has been almost a month now since I formally transferred from my previous position to my new position in Project Management. A few observations on how the transfer has been going:
1) My e-mail traffic is down - way down. I went from somewhere between 100 and 150 e-mails a day to 20 to 30.
2) Along with that, my meetings have gone down - not quite a significantly (perhaps 15 hours a week instead of 30 hours) but definitely a difference.
3) However, along with the drop in e-mails and meetings is a significant drop in my insight into the state of the company and its ongoing operations. That is not surprising, I suppose: I went from a "decision making leader" to an "individual contributor". To those that have not heard the language before, "individual contributor" is a fancy Human Resources term for "worker bee". I get given specific tasks and told to do them instead of actively contributing at a higher level.
This has been more difficult than I had anticipated, to be honest with you. All of sudden, one sees and knows of meetings that one is not involved in, meetings that one month ago were matters of regular attendance and importance. My opinion in them mattered. Now, I am not even on the fringes of them but rather patiently waiting for information or decisions from them to act on.
It is quite a shift.
The only good news from this, I suppose, is that I no longer bear the responsibility of those decision either.
I am still getting inserted into projects and tasks and so eventually I think this sense of being "outside and at loose ends" will go away. Still, the days of being a "decision making leader" are gone. I am still working out how I feel about this.
4) Most importantly, I have been approved to work one week from The Ranch.
This was a subject I have discussed with my previous HR director a year ago. At the time, it was not right - even I conceded that in my previous position, working remotely was difficult at best and the environment was not such that I would have even felt comfortable suggesting it.
Enter The Plague of 2020 and a position change.
Suddenly, working remotely from the office is all the rage - and demonstrated as an effective tool. I spoke with my new boss, who said "I cannot say no based on current events" and then cleared it with his boss as well. As long as it "works", it is okay (and trust me, I will do everything in my power to make sure that it "works").
What does this mean? I get to be at The Ranch one week a month. It will be nice to be able to see my parents more. It will also be nice to be there more. I do not know that I will have a lot of time to start any projects, but (knowing me) something will come up.
What happens if we finally go back to "The Office"? We will burn that bridge when we come to it, although I am (again) thinking that will not happen for months. By that time, this will be an established thing - and besides, the idea of working from home will have become ingrained in our culture.
So overall, the transition has been good so far: I reduced e-mails and meetings, reduced stress, and am able to work from a place I love one week a month.
Kind of funny how God works things out sometimes.
If it makes you feel better I had problems going back to being a drone too, TB... for awhile. Eventually though I realized my priorities were the dogs, chores at home, the range... and it was my time to let go.
ReplyDeleteGlen, thanks for that. I thought it was just me.
DeleteIt is not like I a complete individual contributor - I have projects that should and will fall into line. But regardless of those, my role has definitely changed. Which, as you say, does involve changing your priorities. I just think I am in the middle of that process.
High performers don't have a long shelf life post retirement. I encouraged one of our senior managers to take another job after he retired. There is something about the brain of a mover... it has to matter after being so involved at the higher level. Tapering off of that level of responsibility is art and science, I think.
ReplyDeleteGetting a week of officing in heaven... Man, what score!
STxAR, I have heard and read the same thing: High ranking military officers and CEOs that do not make it six months out after retirement for no other reason than their lives "stopped". A good thought, that it is an art and science - it is finding the way to transition that is probably the difficulty for most (including me, apparently).
DeleteYes, I am looking forward to spending more time there. Hopefully I can increase it.
This is interesting to read about, if only because the experience is foreign to me. I've never been that invested in a job. But I do empathize. Glen makes a good point about priorities, and I suspect your viewpoint will shift as you establish your new routine.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, the odd thing is that if you asked me, I would say "I am not that invested in my job". Yet here I am, rather invested in it (in the past tense). Priorities will shift -are in fact shifting. I guess I just did not anticipate this hitting me as hard as it is.
DeleteWhen we walk through the scary unknown, it's good to remember there is truth there that we haven't absorbed. We are in a spooky place that doesn't make sense to us, but there is treasure there. Keep your eyes open for it. Bilbo got treasure from the dragon encounter. Jonah got insight from his time in the fish. We may not be the same when we get out of there (Horus was missing his eye after Set), but we are better for it. Was Jonah a bleached blonde post fish? Is that the same as cheer up, it gets worse? Be encouraged!!
DeleteThat is a very sensible position, STxAR (and double Martian No Prizes for referencing The Hobbit and Egyptian Mythology!). I will continue to look for the truth I have not absorbed.
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