Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Work

I don't tend to post a lot about work.
It's not because I don't enjoy work. In fact, I really enjoy my job. I'm one of the few people who can say that she has a great boss, and all the "bosses" on up to our CEO are people that I enjoy. And, a lot of the people that I don't directly report to, but I work with or around, I mostly like them too.
I also like my job.
But here's the thing. My job was sort of kind of lacking in definition for awhile. I love having the kind of job where I never know what's coming next. I would HATE it if I could tell you what I will be doing every minute of every day.
But, I got a little frustrated by not having one specific project that was mine to sink my teeth into and have some control over.
So I brought this up - a few times.
And voila - I got more responsibility.
Are you prepared to laugh???? I got handed the job of webmaster for the new intranet site we're developing. Seriously.
I'm laughing because figuring out how to put a link in blogger took me months. If you're wondering why you are not on my side bar, it's likely because I find it difficult and usually screw up the code and have to get my husband to fix it.
So, when my boss told me my new responsibility I had one of those moments of sheer gratitude that someone had that much belief in me and yet sheer panic that this was something I could NOT do. I didn't have much time to think about it because I ended up going to meetings and being thrown into the deep end of things.
That was a month ago.
And ... I'm loving it.
I should explain that I don't do the technical stuff. I'm still slowly learning the difference between searching and browsing and what a portal is. I never understood the importance of a site map and now I do. And I'm figuring out programs that I have never used before.
And then today I had a conference call. And that conference call was one where I had to make decisions and judgement calls and set up timelines without my trusty boss (and, admittedly really good friend, but in this case that's an aside) sitting there agreeing with me.
And then there was a moment - the technical guy started talking about analytics, and discussing the role that google analytics could play. And in that moment I realized that I understood. And I was able to contribute.
And I even made some good points and suggestions.
And today I realized that sometimes I don't give myself enough credit. There are some things I'm good at and I pride myself on them. But, sometimes I limit myself and think I can't do something. And, it takes being thrown in to realize that fears can be pretty stupid.
Don't get me wrong. I don't think I'm going to quit my job and become a website designer. But, I do think that I'm going to embrace some of this technology and realize that I need to limit myself a little less.
And really, one of these days I'll update those links.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good job! That is a really big responsibility and I'm sure your enthusiasm and willingness to learn will translate into a wonderful site!

AndreAnna said...

Yay for you!I'm very proud of your accomplishment. We must be vibing together or something today because I just posted about work too. LOL.

With Love, Fat Girl said...

Hey kiddo, just wanted to leave you something about toilet training... I know I know, I don't have a kid, but if you're open to new ideas I heard these really cool ones on some show awhile ago: get 2000 flushes, that blue stuff, and tell Matt he has to turn the magic water green. What also is supposed to work for boys is throwing a cheerio in the toilet, and telling them to aim for the target. Good luck!

LoriD said...

That sounds great, Laural! It is so much more satisfying to have a project that is challenging and a little outside of your comfort zone, but has real, tangible results. You seem like an adventurous gal, so you'll do very well, I'm sure!

Mandy said...

You go girl!