TAN#200: BicenTANial Bliss! (Page 55)

on to more important things (and eliminating quotes)

WHAT SHOULD I DO FOR LUNCH

TAN seems to be a good place for career advice.

I'm bored at work. I am doing work where my strengths lie but I've done it for 8 years at this company. I want to broach the subject with my manager but there are risks to that. My options as I see them:

1) continue doing my job.
2) continue conversation about moving into management in my department. Not sure I would like this or be good at it AT ALL. Not much opportunity either, but would involve building my leadership skills - good for any position.
3) explore positions in other areas of the company (career risk, obv, but kind of exciting to me)
4) explore jobs outside of the company 

WWTANDO?!

TAN seems to be a good place for career advice.

I'm bored at work. I am doing work where my strengths lie but I've done it for 8 years at this company. I want to broach the subject with my manager but there are risks to that. My options as I see them:

1) continue doing my job.
2) continue conversation about moving into management in my department. Not sure I would like this or be good at it AT ALL. Not much opportunity either, but would involve building my leadership skills - good for any position.
3) explore positions in other areas of the company (career risk, obv, but kind of exciting to me)
4) explore jobs outside of the company 

WWTANDO?!

no reason you can't do 4 while doing one of the others.

i agree with what brad says though, what is your ultimate goal.  some people like coasting because it allows for you to have flexibility/control/personal life/etc.  mr meh is staying in a boring job right now because he is in grad school part time, and till he finishes he likes the lack of responsibility/intensity during the work day.

me personally - when i'm bored - i go find a change.  option 1 is not an option for me.  but i prefer a challenge.

i dunno...i think we need way more info to advise here.

#4 is kind of a last option for me - I really like the company I work for, best insurance/benefits in the city, starting over with vacation and such sucks, etc. But I'm not closed if a great opportunity came along.

I am not a natural leader, which is why I am unsure if management is right for me. Apparently I've given off that vibe as my manager told me the rest of our leadership, when succession planning, said "we are not sure Lisa wants to be in a management role."

Ultimate goal? I want challenging/exciting/meaningful work, but not at the expense of my stress-free life. Does that exist?

I also want to make more money.

What else does TAN want to know?

#4 is kind of a last option for me - I really like the company I work for, best insurance/benefits in the city, starting over with vacation and such sucks, etc. But I'm not closed if a great opportunity came along.

I am not a natural leader, which is why I am unsure if management is right for me. Apparently I've given off that vibe as my manager told me the rest of our leadership, when succession planning, said "we are not sure Lisa wants to be in a management role."

Ultimate goal? I want challenging/exciting/meaningful work, but not at the expense of my stress-free life. Does that exist?

I also want to make more money.

What else does TAN want to know?

#4 is kind of a last option for me - I really like the company I work for, best insurance/benefits in the city, starting over with vacation and such sucks, etc. But I'm not closed if a great opportunity came along.

I am not a natural leader, which is why I am unsure if management is right for me. Apparently I've given off that vibe as my manager told me the rest of our leadership, when succession planning, said "we are not sure Lisa wants to be in a management role."

Ultimate goal? I want challenging/exciting/meaningful work, but not at the expense of my stress-free life. Does that exist?

I also want to make more money.

What else does TAN want to know?

first thoughts - do YOU want a management role?  go read lean in.  now.  i think most women "give off that vibe," just a way we differ from men in the workplace.  if you are interested you have to be OVERLY proactive in correcting that perception.  i'm still struggling with it.

greater responsibility = greater stress, just a fact of life i believe. 

what other roles are even available if you don't move into "a management role"?  what would "a management role" mean?

The synopsis of that book sounds identical to this one my mentor lent me and I'm currently reading.

I'm undecided if I want to be in management. Management role at my company is leading a group of employees and being responsible for their work and success. Like I said I am not a natural leader so it would be very UN-natural and stressful to me. But I feel like if I do not pursue that, I will be/already am perceived as an unmotivated/bad employee. I'm motivated and want to do meaningful work, I just don't want to set myself up for failure in a job I already think I wouldn't be good at. 

I feel like there are not a lot of options for folks who want a meaningful career outside of leadership roles. 

The synopsis of that book sounds identical to this one my mentor lent me and I'm currently reading.

I'm undecided if I want to be in management. Management role at my company is leading a group of employees and being responsible for their work and success. Like I said I am not a natural leader so it would be very UN-natural and stressful to me. But I feel like if I do not pursue that, I will be/already am perceived as an unmotivated/bad employee. I'm motivated and want to do meaningful work, I just don't want to set myself up for failure in a job I already think I wouldn't be good at. 

I feel like there are not a lot of options for folks who want a meaningful career outside of leadership roles. 

Well, I guess I'm gonna go home and prepare for the Apocalypse.

I am in conference call hell.

hour one is done, only 4 hours left!  only me and another peer are on the phone while the other 6 people are together in a room.

well...i know you don't want to look outside your employer...but it sounds like the way your employer is set up you don't really have options (obviously in a few messages you are not able to convey the complexity of it and i could be reading it wayyyyy wrong).  so then - is benefits and vacation worth that to you?

Well that's what I need to talk to my manager about - if there are options what are they.
I say options are limited because within my current department it's just so small. My manager is over 3 of us - his manager is over our group and one other, and then it goes up to VP level. So... theoretically, next step is limited to my managers job, unless I move departments - it's not like my area has 5 managers - just 1. And he was just moved into it less than a year ago. So even if I do say YES I want your job, it'll probably be multiple years before it opens up.

former boss held a meeting with us today and asked us to PLEASE give new boss a chance, he really has worked on changing.

bad sign, i think.