A Parent
I just came home from a going away party for the plant's HR co-op. She and I hit it off pretty quickly because we're both "Southern girls", me being from FL & her being from TX. The party was hosted by the HR Generalist who supports my group. She's pretty out spoken (much as I am) and we talked pretty extensively during the gathering. When we all started talking about her boss' announcement (he forcibly resigned today) some of the younger folks who are new to the game wanted to change the subject...so we did. We then started talking about the company interview process. Having just gone through it earlier this week (we interviewed two candidates for an environmental engineering position) I started thinking about what the discussions were like after I interviewed for this position earlier this year.
"Well, it was a succession plan move," she openly said.
The younger folks who know what's what were taken aback.
"Wow! A succession plan move!" one of the younger white men said.
"What?!" I exclaimed.
"Not everyone is on a succession plan. Everyone has a development plan, but not everyone is on a succession plan!" he said.
"What's the difference?" I half-way innocently asked.
"A succession plan move means that by May of 2000 & X, so & so is going to be in a leadership role. You're on the fast track!"
I felt a little exposed. I'd forgotten it was real...that I'd been chosen. But on top of everything, it was now out in the open! I should've known since I was on a North America conference call yesterday where the result was me being positioned to present to upper management as an ESH representative for our site (never mind that I just got here a month ago). I thought it was a fluke, but tonight I was reminded that it's real.
I have plans to go shopping tomorrow (and I hate shopping) with a couple of new accountants...one from Brazil and the other from Indiana. I need to buy furniture for my new place so I can entertain folks from work. It's an opportunity for me to develop my relationships with the younger crew and woo the more powerful people I know here. More importantly it goes back to what I told one of the maintenance techs here on my first day when I introduced myself and he said, "It's nice to meet you! So, when do you leave?"
"When do I leave?! I just got here! Look, I have two jobs. My first priority is to be a mother to my son. This job at [insert the name of the company here] allows me to be a better mother to my son, but I know that he's going to grow up one day and I need something to do when he leaves home. Don't get me wrong, I love my son, but my career isn't the most important thing in life. [Insert the name of the company here] won't be at my funeral when I die, but if I do a good job at my first job, my son will."
"So, you're not a career woman?" the tech asked.
"Let me put it this way," I carefully replied, "You're career is made up of three things: what you learn, what you do, and the relationships you build along the way."
I went to the party tonight, am going shopping for furniture tomorrow, and have moved here as a Machiavellian move: the end justifies the means. I'm developing relationships with folks within [insert the name of the company here] so I can move to a higher position and be better able to provide for my son. And hopefully in 20 years, Shorty will be better informed about the game so he won't have it as hard as I've had it, will play better than I have, move faster than I have, and won't worry as much about his parents as I do about mine...and hopefully, along the way, he'll be able to feed his passion...much as I am now.
I may be a polineer (a.k.a. a politically savvy engineer) who's on her way up, but I'm a parent first.
"Well, it was a succession plan move," she openly said.
The younger folks who know what's what were taken aback.
"Wow! A succession plan move!" one of the younger white men said.
"What?!" I exclaimed.
"Not everyone is on a succession plan. Everyone has a development plan, but not everyone is on a succession plan!" he said.
"What's the difference?" I half-way innocently asked.
"A succession plan move means that by May of 2000 & X, so & so is going to be in a leadership role. You're on the fast track!"
I felt a little exposed. I'd forgotten it was real...that I'd been chosen. But on top of everything, it was now out in the open! I should've known since I was on a North America conference call yesterday where the result was me being positioned to present to upper management as an ESH representative for our site (never mind that I just got here a month ago). I thought it was a fluke, but tonight I was reminded that it's real.
I have plans to go shopping tomorrow (and I hate shopping) with a couple of new accountants...one from Brazil and the other from Indiana. I need to buy furniture for my new place so I can entertain folks from work. It's an opportunity for me to develop my relationships with the younger crew and woo the more powerful people I know here. More importantly it goes back to what I told one of the maintenance techs here on my first day when I introduced myself and he said, "It's nice to meet you! So, when do you leave?"
"When do I leave?! I just got here! Look, I have two jobs. My first priority is to be a mother to my son. This job at [insert the name of the company here] allows me to be a better mother to my son, but I know that he's going to grow up one day and I need something to do when he leaves home. Don't get me wrong, I love my son, but my career isn't the most important thing in life. [Insert the name of the company here] won't be at my funeral when I die, but if I do a good job at my first job, my son will."
"So, you're not a career woman?" the tech asked.
"Let me put it this way," I carefully replied, "You're career is made up of three things: what you learn, what you do, and the relationships you build along the way."
I went to the party tonight, am going shopping for furniture tomorrow, and have moved here as a Machiavellian move: the end justifies the means. I'm developing relationships with folks within [insert the name of the company here] so I can move to a higher position and be better able to provide for my son. And hopefully in 20 years, Shorty will be better informed about the game so he won't have it as hard as I've had it, will play better than I have, move faster than I have, and won't worry as much about his parents as I do about mine...and hopefully, along the way, he'll be able to feed his passion...much as I am now.
I may be a polineer (a.k.a. a politically savvy engineer) who's on her way up, but I'm a parent first.
posted by N'j at 11:00 PM
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