I was looking forward to the day that my colleague would be back from her maternity leave. Juggling 2 portfolios for the past 2 months not only was taking a toll on my health, it was also starting to show the first signs of break-down as I was rushing to complete the more critical and urgent tasks. There were other important issues which I had tried to put off for the time-being so that I could meet the burning deadlines first.
Just as I thought my entire ordeal would end in about two weeks' time, my boss's boss suddenly had a chat with me.
He asked me if I was interested in continuing with the project under the portfolio that I was temporarily covering. Faced with fatigue from the fire-fighting for that project for the past 2 months, my first instinct was to decline. I was looking forward to going back to my core where I felt I had the most contribution. Indeed, the ability to attend training for six-sigma and to be certified a green belt was tempting. Yet, on the other hand, if I continued, I knew I would end up with many sleepless nights.
My boss always mentioned that you could never have the cake and eat it. If you wished for a challenging job, then you could never expect to have too much of a work-life balance. If you wish for work-life balance, then your career progression would have to take a back-seat. Yes, I was fully aware of this as I too believed there could never be free lunch in this world.
Now, I was once again at the cross-road. If I declined this project, I would have to do it tactfully without appearing to be one who shied away from challenges. Yet, this might be the opportunity for me to do a high-exposure project and for me to also test my own competence. Moreover, a green belt certification in six sigma could be a highly valuable accolade to be added to be my resume. In the event that I had to move on, it would increase my marketability in the job market.
Personal development aside, I was equally concerned about my ability to contribute. After all, my colleague returning from maternity leave had more experience than me on this project. She was one of the pioneers who kicked off this project. Furthermore, I always admired her steadfastness, perseverance and merticulous attitude on work. She would definitely be able to drive it better than I do. If she were to take over this portfolio, it made sense that the project stayed with her since she would be able to translate the issues faced in operation to the improvements under the project. A separation of the operation and the project might create gaps in understanding and application.
My boss's boss asked me to think it through his proposal. Despite saying that he had not confirmed the plan and the person to be selected for this, I knew well in my heart that once he broached this subject, it was most likely that he had already made his choice.
No comments:
Post a Comment