Carol H Tucker Passionate about knowledge management and organizational development, expert in loan servicing, virtual world denizen and community facilitator, and a DISNEY fan
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beladona Memorial Be warned:in this very rich environment where you can immerse yourself so completely, your emotions will become engaged -- and not everyone is cognizant of that. Among the many excellent features of SL, there is no auto-return on hearts, so be wary of where your's wanders...
Quote of the day: We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done. --- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Monday, I asked in a post in FaceBook "when did my get-up-and-go get up and go away?" and received a comment back that asked "do you like what you do?" Good question!
I like being in support -- that is a blog post all on its own as I believe that it is in operations that businesses differentiate themselves. I like being in Loan Servicing, especially in Loan Operations, because I enjoy figuring things out and applying them. But I do I like what I am doing now?
At TWSB, I was a manager and doing the job of a SVP. While the CEO and I were not getting along, I had the respect of the rest of the senior management team and was included in many of the decision-making meetings for the bank. I felt valued and knew that I was contributing. My salary was good and I had five weeks PTO during the course of the year. Then the CEO maneuvered me out the door. I got a three month severance package and went job hunting. The CEO made disparaging remarks and that hurt my opportunities, but the real problem was that I was pricey.
Before my package ran out, I landed at MSL. I was happy to get this job, Not only was it an increase in pay [although a decrease to 3 1/2 weeks PTO was a bit awkward] but it sounded like a great career opportunity even though I was stepping down to be a Director of a smaller organization....
But it turned out that there was little in the way of management expertise entailed -- what I ended up doing was being a worker bee. I enjoyed setting up the processes and proceedures of course because that is what I do best, but then it was a question of just handling the day-to-day transactions. I was not included in management decisions or even permitted to see the balance sheet and income statement of the company. This was not a career position, it was a job. I have often gone back and tried to think out if it was my mindset that turned what I thought was a career opportunity with a growing concern into a clerical position. There was a lot more in the way of day-to-day work than I had anticipated and anything other than processing transactions needed to be done outside the 10 hour days I was putting in. From the company's standpoint, I failed to live up to my billing -- I never stepped up and took charge and steadfastedly declined to be available 24/7 even though I used the company's BlackBerry. Neither of us were happy with the situation, and it didn't help matters that this was the period of time when I had to deal with my mother's increasing dementia and my own heart problems.
They eliminated my position and let me go with a six week severance package after 1 3/4 years right at the beginning of the recession. Through sheer luck I landed my current position before the pay ran out -- but here I do not have a title, although I am salaried. I took a substantial pay cut, settling for 2/3 of my salary and only three weeks PTO, but I had a job....
A job. OTOH: This was not a career decision, it was an economic decision to keep a paycheck coming in. In the past two years, I have not regretted that decision -- I gained back about three hours a day for one thing and I am working once more with people I like and respect who like and respect me. But many times I am simply bored with what I am doing. OTOH: I have actually turned down headhunters who have contacted me about other opportunities even though the salaries would be higher because I just don't feel like moving back into that high level of expectations right now.
But in making this decision, did I lose my get-up-and-go?
CEOExpress
