Riding the Career Bus

I thought I'd update all of you on how things are going with my new boss as I've been in the role for just over a month.

After a bit of a shaky start in December (I felt a bit out of my depth and didn't know anyone in the new department), I am really enjoying my job now. What I didn't mention in my last blog is that my boss is on the executive committee of the financial institution where I work. This means that my responsibilities and the way I do things have now had to change.

In my old role, I supported between four and six middle and senior managers at any one time. I was pretty much doing the same things over and over again, but the sheer volume of work and managing the different personalities meant that it never got boring.

Now, because I work for a 'strategy guy', a lot more thought has to go into what I do. Both my boss and the team (currently two other blokes but this will grow) constantly challenge me to think 'bigger, better and beyond the box'. This would be great, except I don't like thinking!!! Seriously, I do feel a bit out of my comfort zone on occasion, but that is not a bad thing.

I still have to take care of the more mundance aspects of a PA role like booking travel, arranging meetings and looking after the administrative needs of my team. However, I now also have to ensure that we comply with the company's various records management and information risk policies. These are areas which I never had to deal with before, so while I am in the process of getting myself up to speed, I am definitely 'not there yet'.

Luckily, the guys have a great sense of humour and treat me like they would their sister. They do make fun of me but I enjoy the banter. And needless to say, I give it right back. :-)

I have also made a couple of bloopers...oops! The other day, I was copying some notes off the whiteboard for my boss and I typed what I thought was "overloading the bus". Although that sounds odd, he has a consultancy background and tends to throw around fancy phrases I don't understand like "deep blue ocean", "those are his worry beads" (or something to that effect), etc. When he read through what I wrote, he started to laugh and said, "No, not overloading the bus. We shouldn't overload the BUs (business units)!" Ha ha ha, I must admit I did chuckle as well. Doh!

Well, moving roles was definitely the right thing to do and I'm happy I made the leap. My boss has his exco profile on our company intranet and I have sent it to some colleagues on my old team. Yes, I do feel a sense of pride that I have this role after only being in the company for less than three years. Do keep your fingers (and toes, eyes, whatever) crossed that I will do an amazing job and wish me lots of luck! Every bit helps!