Work is like a river always trying to swell out of its banks. If you let it, it will flood every crevice of your life, and you will be left fighting with your head barely above water, trying to catch your breath. As flood barriers are built to protect floodplains, so do I have systems to prevent work from taking over my life. I reschedule non-important meetings when I have busy days, send detailed emails sometimes instead of having meetings, take regular holidays, and even take naps if my energy levels drop in the afternoon. But sometimes, work overflows greatly and breaches these bulwarks, no matter how hard I try, so I am left with no choice but to roll up my sleeves and get to work.
The last three weeks were like that. An overflow. A breach. I was completely inundated with work. It was so bad that the only words I managed to string together were those that made their way into slide decks and the numerous work emails I sent. I barely had time for anything else, which explains why the last time I published an article was fifteen days ago.
Last year, I was informed of a plan to set up a new central team within my organisation whose remit will be to improve our current suite of products and to develop new ones that will position us to remain competitive in the market. A few months ago, I was advised that I may be asked to lead the team. On July 1, I officially started my role as the team lead of the newly-formed Research and Development (R&D) team. The start has been a whirlwind of meetings and emails. Before this new role, I was responsible for managing a team building a data product. The job was challenging, but it was pretty straightforward. My responsibilities were to ensure we built the right thing and to oversee the coaching and development of my team members. I also operated as an individual contributor, contributing code when I could. My new role is a different ball game, however. I will now be responsible for more than one product and workstreams, which means I will manage more people. It also means I may not have little or no opportunity to contribute code, which I enjoy doing.
The new role is an exciting opportunity. It could supercharge my career growth if I get it right. But I have to admit that I am scared. For the first time in my career, I have been promoted into a role where I don’t feel like I entirely know what I have to do. I recognise that I need to learn completely new skills. The skills that have served me so well in my career until this point may not be sufficient going forward. I need to learn, and I need to learn fast. It is a strange feeling because I am usually very self-assured. Past promotions usually left me brimming with confidence, but this one is different. I guess it’s because I recognise how massive an opportunity it is. I also have Peter Principle at the back of my mind. Peter Principle is a management concept which states that a person competent at their job will keep getting promoted until they reach a level at which they are incompetent. I keep wondering if this new promotion is my level of incompetence. I don’t think it is, but it is a thought I can’t seem to shake.
Another thing at the back of my mind is how I will deal with the transition from being a maker (an individual contributor) to being a proper manager who will be responsible for ensuring multiple projects run smoothly. I love being a manager. I have enjoyed my time and learnt a lot since I first became one, but there is an area I still need to improve upon. An unofficial feedback I got from my boss last year is that I need to learn how to step back from being an individual contributor and trust more junior team members with more responsibilities. I am still trying to improve on that front, but I sometimes struggle because I genuinely enjoy being an individual contributor. Transitioning from being a maker to a manager is never easy. Fortuitously, I saw Top Gun: Maverick with my friends yesterday. The protagonist’s painful dilemma when he was asked to train a group of naval aviators for a mission instead of flying the mission himself captured how tough that transition from maker to manager can be. It made me feel like I wasn’t alone and that I just need to keep learning and improving. I will surely get better.
The next year of my life will be exciting, and I can’t wait to see how things pan out. If you have any advice or book recommendations on how to succeed in this new role, please reach out to me. I would appreciate every help. Thank you!
Interesting transition; work begets work. Congratulations but i am curious as to how to reach you with the hope of advising. :-)