What I'm Going To Be When I Grow Up
I finally figured out what I'm going to be when I grown up. Turns out it's the same thing (almost) I've been for the past nine years. I did not see that coming. But I'm pretty happy about it, as it turns out.
I got promoted. It's been in the works for a while and gradually became more and more official, so although it went into effect today with the start of a new fiscal year, there was never a day on which I was promoted. I haven't said much about it because by the time it was definitely 100% official, which in some ways was just last Friday when the budget was approved, it was old news to me.
In some ways it's not a big deal; it's essentially just a title bump. I'm now the Assistant Director instead of the Office Manager. Sounds impressive, no? It doesn't mean that much. Assistant Director wasn't a job before. There isn't an Office Manager now. I still do all the things I did before, but now with added authority and responsibility.
But yet, it's kind of a big deal. I'm suddenly a boss. I am empowered to make more decisions, both for my own tasks and to approve things for other staff members, rather than everyone always having to wait around for the very part-time Executive Director to say whether we can proceed with something. This goes hand-in-hand with adding a new position of Program Director, and between these two changes, I'm very excited to Get. Stuff. Done.
It has the potential to mean bigger changes in the future. Hopefully, maybe as soon as year from now, we will hire an Office Manager to take over my original job and free me up to devote full time to director level duties and grant-writing. I have big, big plans for when that time comes. An office that is NOT a reception area. Salaried. Somewhat flexible hours. More competitive pay and benefits package with a retirement plan.
When I started at NISOM I never would have dreamed they could offer me those things (they definitely could not), and I never dreamed I'd be there this long because of that. This year has really been a game changer for the organization, though, and this is all part of longer term planning and sustainability. And now the new position is a game changer for me mentally. I was never going to be the Office Manger of NISOM forever, which is why I wasn't too concerned about not having things like a retirement plan. But I might just be a director for a good long while. As I told my boss, I could retire from this...if they make it a position I'm able to retire from.
So even though my job today was literally no different than it would have been without the promotion (except paying a little better), it's actually entering a whole new phase of my life. Or, more accurately, confirming that I entered it a while ago. No more marking time "until," self. This is it. Go clean something.
I got promoted. It's been in the works for a while and gradually became more and more official, so although it went into effect today with the start of a new fiscal year, there was never a day on which I was promoted. I haven't said much about it because by the time it was definitely 100% official, which in some ways was just last Friday when the budget was approved, it was old news to me.
In some ways it's not a big deal; it's essentially just a title bump. I'm now the Assistant Director instead of the Office Manager. Sounds impressive, no? It doesn't mean that much. Assistant Director wasn't a job before. There isn't an Office Manager now. I still do all the things I did before, but now with added authority and responsibility.
But yet, it's kind of a big deal. I'm suddenly a boss. I am empowered to make more decisions, both for my own tasks and to approve things for other staff members, rather than everyone always having to wait around for the very part-time Executive Director to say whether we can proceed with something. This goes hand-in-hand with adding a new position of Program Director, and between these two changes, I'm very excited to Get. Stuff. Done.
It has the potential to mean bigger changes in the future. Hopefully, maybe as soon as year from now, we will hire an Office Manager to take over my original job and free me up to devote full time to director level duties and grant-writing. I have big, big plans for when that time comes. An office that is NOT a reception area. Salaried. Somewhat flexible hours. More competitive pay and benefits package with a retirement plan.
When I started at NISOM I never would have dreamed they could offer me those things (they definitely could not), and I never dreamed I'd be there this long because of that. This year has really been a game changer for the organization, though, and this is all part of longer term planning and sustainability. And now the new position is a game changer for me mentally. I was never going to be the Office Manger of NISOM forever, which is why I wasn't too concerned about not having things like a retirement plan. But I might just be a director for a good long while. As I told my boss, I could retire from this...if they make it a position I'm able to retire from.
So even though my job today was literally no different than it would have been without the promotion (except paying a little better), it's actually entering a whole new phase of my life. Or, more accurately, confirming that I entered it a while ago. No more marking time "until," self. This is it. Go clean something.