TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
> And you don't think that the prospect of doing that makes it
> hard to decide if you want to pursue a new opportunity that
> stretches your existing goals? It sure made it hard for me the
> first time I had to decide whether to take a supervisor position.
Oh sure. But when somebody who knows you in the work environment - and has a
position of authority and responsibility - makes a point of presenting you
with the opportunity, complete with ribbon and bow, you should be leaning
_strongly_ toward "accept now, worry later". After all, opportunities like
that don't crop up very often, at least not _until_ you've had a chance to
prove yourself in something similar. Chicken-and-egg. If you refuse now,
will you even be considered 'next time' (if there ever is a next time)?
Conversely, if you even admit the possibility that you might be willing to
stick a toe in, if only you'd had more warning and time to mull it over
longer... then what would be different after further dithering and
agonizing? If you are the type to look for every bad possibility, you'll
only find (or imagine) more. Better to jump now and discover that most of
the bad things you anticipate are not even issues, and most of the things
that are issues are:
a) not what you'd expected
b) amenable to good will coupled with thoughtful action.
As you inherently admit, you would not now know if supervision and
management were for you if you had never tried.
I can see somebody not going out of their way to seek/connive/create a
position that's way outside their comfort zone. But when it's handed to you
by someone who (presumably) has seen something in you, and who has a stake
in a positive outcome, and is already where they believe you could go, then
you've already bypassed the trembling and dithering stage. Just jump. The
net will appear, as they say.
I'm feeling rah-rah today, and lining up my rationalizations for it.
If you've only ever rented, it's a big, shiver-inducing decision to take out
a mortgage and BUY a house. But then you find out that you're basically
paying a different landlord (the bank), and you have some more control over
costs and maintenance, but you don't have to put up with other people's
screaming kids stampeding down the hall outside your door at midnight, or
the couple in the next unit slamming the headboard against the wall...
So many people do it, and they all start in roughly the same place. In the
case of the OP, it's actually something of a leg-up position (since OP was
approached by the manager), akin to Mom'n'Dad providing the down-payment.
There's really no downside.
I suggest that the OP very quickly do one, the other, or both, of joining
ToastMasters or taking a first-jump parachuting course. Either one will
build confidence regarding the approach to "scary" situations, and make the
job-related quivers seem secondary by comparison.
Kevin
The information contained in this electronic mail transmission may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected from disclosure. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to this message and deleting it from your computer without copying or disclosing it.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
Now shipping: Help & Manual 4 with RoboHelp(r) import! New editor,
full Unicode support. Create help files, web-based help and PDF in up
to 106 languages with Help & Manual: http://www.helpandmanual.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
