I'm too excited and restless to work this morning. I had a chat with Craig earlier, and he has me buzzing right now.
It all started last week at the conference out at Cammeray Waters. There was a heated discussion between the engineers and the BDMs on the first day and the last day. By the end of the conference, I was irritated. The discussion centered mainly around the engineers wanting more responsibility, and though it wasn't said out loud, I got the impression that the BDMs really didn't see the engineers as their actual equal, and it would always be like that. As in, the shift culturally between the two roles would never close, not to the extent that I was used to at Post.
So I had a think about it over the weekend, and the more I thought about it, the more irritated I got. It bothered me what the BDMs thought. On Tuesday, I had a chat with the most vocal of the BDMs from last week. We sorted out our differences, and then had a chat about future progression, and she told me to apply for the BDM role currently open at the moment in the department. I was quite hesitant, because, although I know I need to become a BDM sooner or later, I don't really want to go down that path. But I know eventually I'll need to become one, to move onto bigger and better things.
I had a chat with Craig this morning; not about the BDM role, but about my next move. And he's opened doors for me. His viewpoint was that he thought it would be more beneficial for me to get broader experience, before I moved onto a BDM role. I have already ruled out an Account Management role (not my thing), but he suggested some very exciting things that he thought would be a good, and natural step up for me, options that wouldn't hinder my progress from moving up, but would reinforce my CV further down the track, and add to my experience/capability. So my aim is to do my next role for a few years, then come back, do a BDM role for a few years, and then move onto a bigger management role.
What did Craig suggest?
1. Move to the Laverton office into our Transport division, because there is a lot of growth there. I would get back up to speed with Transport, I would get operational experience, and I would work under quite a good team that will definitely show results in the next two years. Because it's still in it's infant stages, and quite messy, it's very quick to see results, and I would be part of the team that would deliver it. An excellent opportunity to work upwards, quickly. It's guaranteed success moving into this department.
2. Move to Sydney, and work in operations, under a National Business Manager in one of our medium sized accounts. It's similar to an Account Management role, but more analytical, in an operational environment. If I decided to take this option, I would be re-locating permanently to Sydney.
3. Move to an Asia Pacific country, and mentor the engineers there in one of our 'developing' BD areas. Countries like India, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, or even Japan. I would be basically be leading the engineering team and develop processes and tools to get them to where Thailand/Australia currently is.
4. Become a senior engineer here, though Craig admitted this might be the easy way out, and may not present enough of a challenge to me. He's more concerned I would become bored again within 18 months in this role.
So there you have it. Any one of the four above options is open to me, and it's now up to me to decide which area I would want to pursue, and then it's up to Craig and James to make it happen. Either way, I'm going to have a chat with James about all four options, and then see what's the best way forward.
It'll take some time to get a move, but I'm looking for a move within the next six to twelve months.
So... Any thoughts, guys?
It all started last week at the conference out at Cammeray Waters. There was a heated discussion between the engineers and the BDMs on the first day and the last day. By the end of the conference, I was irritated. The discussion centered mainly around the engineers wanting more responsibility, and though it wasn't said out loud, I got the impression that the BDMs really didn't see the engineers as their actual equal, and it would always be like that. As in, the shift culturally between the two roles would never close, not to the extent that I was used to at Post.
So I had a think about it over the weekend, and the more I thought about it, the more irritated I got. It bothered me what the BDMs thought. On Tuesday, I had a chat with the most vocal of the BDMs from last week. We sorted out our differences, and then had a chat about future progression, and she told me to apply for the BDM role currently open at the moment in the department. I was quite hesitant, because, although I know I need to become a BDM sooner or later, I don't really want to go down that path. But I know eventually I'll need to become one, to move onto bigger and better things.
I had a chat with Craig this morning; not about the BDM role, but about my next move. And he's opened doors for me. His viewpoint was that he thought it would be more beneficial for me to get broader experience, before I moved onto a BDM role. I have already ruled out an Account Management role (not my thing), but he suggested some very exciting things that he thought would be a good, and natural step up for me, options that wouldn't hinder my progress from moving up, but would reinforce my CV further down the track, and add to my experience/capability. So my aim is to do my next role for a few years, then come back, do a BDM role for a few years, and then move onto a bigger management role.
What did Craig suggest?
1. Move to the Laverton office into our Transport division, because there is a lot of growth there. I would get back up to speed with Transport, I would get operational experience, and I would work under quite a good team that will definitely show results in the next two years. Because it's still in it's infant stages, and quite messy, it's very quick to see results, and I would be part of the team that would deliver it. An excellent opportunity to work upwards, quickly. It's guaranteed success moving into this department.
2. Move to Sydney, and work in operations, under a National Business Manager in one of our medium sized accounts. It's similar to an Account Management role, but more analytical, in an operational environment. If I decided to take this option, I would be re-locating permanently to Sydney.
3. Move to an Asia Pacific country, and mentor the engineers there in one of our 'developing' BD areas. Countries like India, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, or even Japan. I would be basically be leading the engineering team and develop processes and tools to get them to where Thailand/Australia currently is.
4. Become a senior engineer here, though Craig admitted this might be the easy way out, and may not present enough of a challenge to me. He's more concerned I would become bored again within 18 months in this role.
So there you have it. Any one of the four above options is open to me, and it's now up to me to decide which area I would want to pursue, and then it's up to Craig and James to make it happen. Either way, I'm going to have a chat with James about all four options, and then see what's the best way forward.
It'll take some time to get a move, but I'm looking for a move within the next six to twelve months.
So... Any thoughts, guys?
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