Career Coach

By Barbara Poole

My client, “Debbie,” works for a large organization in the midst of a major upheaval due to recent cost-cutting initiatives that worked so well they have presented a brand new set of challenges for the business.

Far more people than anticipated opted to take voluntary separation packages when they were given the opportunity. While good news for the balance sheet, it has gigantic implications for the remaining workers.

Debbie is one of those people who were package-eligible but chose to continue working. When half the people in her department decided to leave, she saw it as a golden opportunity to ask to be assigned to a couple of projects that she has been intrigued by.

Debbie wants to branch out because she has been in the same role for the past three years and is ready for a new challenge. What she did not bargain for was the that her boss would be only too happy to allow Debbie to work on the projects she wanted—as well as keeping her full scope of regular responsibilities and taking on a couple of other major initiatives that became orphan assignments when their owners left.

Now Debbie feels like she is drowning. Her job has doubled in size, and she has traded feeling restless for feeling overwhelmed.

On one hand, Debbie is delighted that the system seems to be finally interested in taking advantage of her vast experience and knowledge base. But that feeling is overshadowed by an immense sense of pressure while trying to figure out how to juggle everything.

I can relate to Debbie’s plight. As someone who is perennially interested in new things, I have a tendency to bite off more than I can chew. The word “yes” flows naturally from my mouth. And it is only after the reality of what this addition will mean to my already-full schedule that I begin to wonder whether I should have been a little more careful with what I asked for.

There are a few important lessons I have been able to glean for myself and share with Debbie that I now offer to you:

Manage your attraction to novelty. What is new and different is not necessarily what represents the most interesting work for you.

Novelty fades. Make sure there is an appeal that extends beyond new and different.

Be clear on how much of yourself you are willing to give. The ability to draw clear boundaries is essential for someone with a serious habit of saying “yes.”

Sometimes those boundaries are defined by hours, as in, “I’m not willing to work more than 50 hours a week.” Sometimes they are defined by the circumstances.

For example, you might want to draw the line at commitments that would require you to give up the flexibility you currently have in your professional activities.

Don’t be a kid in a candy shop. When you are approaching a situation that you know will offer the opportunity to jump into new projects, assignments or volunteer activities, have some idea of what would fit for you before you look at the menu. Resist the tendency to respond simply by virtue of what captures your eye at that moment.

Make sure you fully understand the scope of what you are volunteering for before you sign on the dotted line. Projects are like sponges. They have a way of expanding once they get wet and people start actually working them.

Be realistic about the time and energy requirements involved before you take them on.

Reserve the right to change your mind. While I would not advocate taking commitments lightly or stepping away from a project you have signed up for, the reality of life is such that sometimes circumstances conspire to make it difficult for those commitments to be sustained.

When that happens, take responsibility for finding a way to make a seamless transition to a new owner and step aside gracefully, rather than running yourself and the activity into the ground.

As the saying goes, “Be careful what you ask for. You just may get it!”

Barbara Poole is a leadership and career development coach with Charleston-based Success Builders, Inc. E-mail her at CoachBarbara@SuccessBuildersInc.com.

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