I was transitioned to my current employer under the claim of a "transfer of business". There were opportunities to work at a higher level, get promoted, whatever you want to call it.
I sucked when I got there because I was bogged down in the details, as usual, trying to finish off the work that came across with the transition. It wasn't so bad because it was a manageable volume of work already under-way. With the transfer of business there was an arrangement to pay my new company as day rate" to manage the existing work to allow a "seamless transfer of business".
It got worse when my original company started issuing more work to their old vendors. It made my job to finish it off much more complicated. Sort of like trying to put out a fire while someone is spraying petrol on it. If I had known they were going to keep issuing work to their old vendors I would have done things differently when I started. Instead I was busy finishing it off and preparing for any new work to be awarded to my new employer, as you'd think would be the case under a "transfer of business" arrangement.
Now several people have been employed in National roles and coming to me to pick my brain for information. At some stages harassing and nagging me with a continual stream of emails, phone calls and meeting requests. I didn't mind so much until they came back with my info a week or so later and use it to tell me what I need to do.. Oh, no shit genius, who told you that?
I've been pulling back on the amount of time I spend "helping" these people now and focussing on my job. Sorry, I'm the dickhead still there at 8:30pm trying to do my day job after they have taken up most of my day with their "help cover up my incompetence" phone conferences.
This week I got a few requests / instructions from "the clients" National PMO to task my current National PMO and to help them do it.. Right, so the clients people know the my PMO don't know what they're doing so they're directing me to instruct them.. You might need to read this a few times to understand. It's difficult for me to explain.
My lesson is to never get bogged down in the details again (unless I change jobs and it's my job to do it). Establish what the objective is, what the tasks are, who, when, how, how much etc - and then manage others to do them. Always.. know what they do without necessarily knowing the details and manage the people. That's my job. And when I get out of the weeds, I think I do it well.
The trouble starts when things don't go well I get pushed into the weeds. I let them do it because I like to get things done. People know I'll do it and save their arse. And in the process I sink in their shit, my career and health suffers, while they tick a few more boxes on their performance review and move up.
It's my own doing and it's up to me to stop letting it happen.
