Meeting With The Bobs

I should be working, but I just had a meeting with an efficiency expert who is doing an assessment of my department, and I'm still feeling distracted from that. Plus, I've only got 30 minutes before my workout, and that's not really enough to delve into my project anyway.

The efficiency expert... he's like one of the Bob's from Office Space. I seriously considered showing up in flip-flops. He was hired because my department has some problems, and the company leadership has so far failed to fix them over the course of the last 2 years. They decided to bring someone in from the outside to give us a fresh perspective on things.

He interviewed us all individually and confidentially, although we all share tidbits with each other about each of our conversations with him. I was last. He asked me about my department, the people, the processes, the management. He said my coworkers all spoke highly of me, that my skill set is well respected, and therefore my opinion was especially valuable to him. He talked of hiring a new manager, and asked me if I would consider applying for the job. He said there would be big changes over the course of the next several weeks.

I want to trust in this guy, I really do. I want so badly for my department to get its shit together so we can collectively kick ass at our jobs and really make a difference for this company. I want us to help people. I want us to help each other.

But we've seen so many disappointments during the last couple years, so many poor decisions, so many promises of change with no follow through. Many people have thrown their hands up in the air, exasperated, because our issues run deep and we can't agree on the best way to improve.

I'll admit, it would give me a sweet sense of satisfaction if I became this department's manager, and I got to tell everyone here to shape up or get out. But am I prepared to manage a group of such strong personalities when I'm all too aware of the history of conflict here? Would they listen to me anyway?

I guess it's nice to know that my coworkers think highly of me, although I already sort of knew that. Three out of the four guys I work with regularly tell me I'm doing great, and I appreciate their feedback.

My problem is that my manager doesn't see it the same way. If the efficiency guy tells my manager that I would make a good departmental leader, I'm pretty sure my manager will disagree. Good grief... just like Peter Gibbons in Office Space. I'll get promoted with as many as 4 people working right underneath me, much to the chagrin of my immediate supervisor who thinks I'm unfit for my current position, let alone any position higher up the food chain.

Ironic, isn't it?

Anyway, it will be very interesting to see how things pan out over the next few weeks. My annual review is next month too -- I wonder if any of these changes will have an effect on that?

I really do hope for positive change. I would love to be excited to come to work every day, like I used to be when I started this job, before everything went to shit. Is it possible to have that back again? I sure hope so.