worker bee
I found out last week that my boss (let's call him Boss A) is taking a new position in the company and another guy (Boss B) is taking Boss A's place. Which is all well and good. I asked for a copy of my last review (which Boss A keeps forgeting to pass back to me), so that when I meet up with Boss B later this week, I can list off all the new projects and whatnot I've been up to. Well, I finally recieved the copy of my review and, while much of it is complimentary - I'm an "integral part of the team," and "a model for service quality" - some of it made me arch my eyebrow upon further study. I recall Boss A telling me that my only real negative is that I lack ambition to move up the ladder in my company. My response remains, "Uhm....being good at my job and not wanting your job...that's a bad thing?"
Hey, ambition is a great thing. I have many ambitions in life. Lots of goals. While I'm all for creating processes that increase profitability for my company, none of my goals revolve around me climbing the corporate ladder. When I re-read my review, I found no less than ten references to my...lack of initiative/ambition. Which comes off as rather daft when you read something such as this:
She is a model for service quality for projects within her comfort zone and was awarded Marketing Associate of the year by the Industrial sales force for her work helping them.
So if you read that right, I won a pretty awesome award (last year they gave out 10 of these awards in my division, this year, just one. Which, not to toot my own horn, but, HELLS YEAH.) Dude just took all the wind out of my sails. It's like, "Well, she's really good at stuff that she's really good at, but she doesn't like challenges...oh, and they gave her this award thing."
(She) is the subject matter expert for the organization....(she) needs new functional challenges to demonstrate her abilities in new areas. When presented with those opportunities she has engaged, but does not seek new opportunity.
Also known as, "I have so much on my freaking plate as it is, I'm too busy picking up the slack for the folks who've left the company (and we aren't refilling that position for 6-10 months or in some cases, never) to raise my hand and take on yet another project. Especially one that you'll end up assigning me to anyway."
Don't get me wrong. I like the company I work at. The folks are nice. Every now and then I get out of the office and travel. And I am an "expert" at certain aspects of my job, so folks approach me confident that I can help them when they need it most. The main thing is, I look at my work as a job, not as a career. I'm not working for a title. I'm working to keep my dog in kibble, a roof over my head and an occassional frivolous DVD purchase now and then.
My ambition is about becoming a better person. A more active citizen. Leaving the world a little better than I came into it. Learning about life outside my bubble. Leaving a mark that isn't about " the carrot on the stick and the watch when you're 70."
Earlier this week, I took the day off to work with some inner city grade school kids and encourage them to express themselves via their own voices. To me, that's why I keep this job. So, along with paying my mortgage, I can take a "vacation day" once in a while just to spend a morning exploring options with kids who aren't used to having many.
I might be lacking as a lackey...but I think I'm doing okay as a human being.
Comments
The rat race -vs- the human race. I really find it annoying how much "ambition and initiative" (read that sucking up to your boss...) plays into how well you are perceived at doing your job.
I have a friend who works in the same field as me, IT, and she is in a frustrating situation where upper management frowns upon her team because they appear to not have the same zeal for working at the company as some other teams appear to. One example of this is the fact that their team doesn't stay at work more than the required hours each week while other teams do. The fact that their deliverables are on time and up to spec is ignored or considered less relavant than their "gung ho!" (or rather a lack of gung ho) attitude. Her boss asked her team if they would be willing to take on additional side projects that are not part of their regular duties (read that stupid busy work that is unnecessary to the functioning of the biz...) around to 10 hours a week in addition to their normal 50 hour work week. No one said anything until one guy said, well I would be willing ot put in maybe 3-4 extra hours a week... This apparently was the wrong answer.
A person on a different team is praised and loved by upper mamagement despite the fact that she does not deliver useful deliverables and documentation. She works longer hours regularly and is one of the "rah-rah, go us!" cheerleader types. Basically she is a good suck up, but not a good or productiove worker. And she is seen as an example of what the "Bosses" want in their employees. Completely ass backwards.
Being a good person in or out of the "office" is nice, but if it doesn't add to the bottom line, so there is no way it is going to be acknowledged or rewarded. A company regardless of what it is, has only one goal. Make money. You may think the goal of your company is to make power tools, or metal shelving or whatever, but really the only reason it exists is to make money. Being good at what you do is important only if it makes money, and it is not important at all if you can make money without being good at what you do. Just look at Microsoft.
Don't get me wrong, being succesful at work is very important, a job and a good one is a means to live your life the way you want to. But it shouldn't be the life you are living. I'd rather see someone else gat that great big promotion then spend rediculous hours at work not see my friends and loved ones as often as I like. But that is just me.
As cheesey and hokey and sappy and sentimental as it sounds I always fall back to It's a Wonderful Life. "Remember George, No man is a failure who has friends." - Clarance.
Yes I am a sentimental fool. Embrace it.
"A person on a different team is praised and loved by upper mamagement despite the fact that she does not deliver useful deliverables and documentation. She works longer hours regularly and is one of the "rah-rah, go us!" cheerleader types. Basically she is a good suck up, but not a good or productiove worker. And she is seen as an example of what the "Bosses" want in their employees. Completely ass backwards."
Dude. That sounds like Monica Goodling. And Albert Gonzales. And every Bush cabinet member.
It's not just a corporate thing...I wonder if it's an American thing, though.
Just a thought, for what it's worth. ; ) Think out of the box--WAY out of the box!
(this probably nixes any thoughts of visiting Florida anytime soon, huh?)
Florida awaits.... hee hee hee