Working It At Work
Last week, someone at work left. He’d been with the company for a while. He’s kind of left me up a creek without a paddle. It’s not horrible, but it was a little stunning. Folks are now looking at me for some serious leadership. It’s a big opportunity for me.
The bigger thing was that my project manager asked me to run the farewell pizza party for this guy. I kind of resented it since I’m one of the few women on the project so I viewed it as sort of sexist. But hey, whatever, I do like the guy and I’m sorry to see him leave the company after a long career.
I made sure to ask Mr. Departure to write me a letter for my file at work. I asked him to write one so that people at work would know what I was doing. Because he’s the high-end software architect, we end up in conference room for hours while I try to figure out what kind of requirement to write down from his Gallic shrugs and vague ideas. He’s actually a small pain in the keester, but very entertaining. I’ve learned a lot from him and he’s very encouraging, pushing me to take the role since it’s opened up. (Actually a lot of folks have asked me if I’m stepping into his shoes. I’ve just resigned myself to this now. With crisis comes opportunity.)
Mr. Departure gave out a lot of kudos and treats through the corporate gift/incentive system, but this recommendation he wrote to me is probably the most crucial thing he could have done for anyone. Corporate logo schwag is nice, but over the long-term, his impressions (as a superstar within the firm) will have lasting impact on my career with this company. A lot of people worship this guy. It’s very clear that everyone has enjoyed their work experiences with him since he does work with deep integrity, intelligence and humor. That was pretty evident from the happy hour that was planned for all of his former projects. A ton of people came out to say their last goodbyes. Good words from him are going to go far, plus the networking opportunity at the happy hour worked out well for me.
So if someone with whom you work closely is leaving work, ask them to write something for you before they go. Be sure to say thanks though and acknowledge the effort. (I joked that he owed me this for walking out on me mid-project.) In the end, he sent me a copy of what he wrote, and I got pretty weepy. It was very nice and extremely kind, reflective of his generosity. At the very least, I will have something for my happy file to read when I get discouraged.
James wrote:
Good call.
Posted on 09-Sep-08 at 1:24 pm | Permalink
Mrs. Micah wrote:
Sounds like a very smart move. And good for your professional courage too. I’ve had two people in the last year give me some real verbal support (besides passing supportive comments). One went out of his way to tell the supervisor what a good job I’d done. So encouraging.
You’re totally awesome, of course, it’s good to have it in writing.
Posted on 09-Sep-08 at 2:58 pm | Permalink
Sistah Ant wrote:
This is great. And your suggestion to others is a good one!
Posted on 09-Sep-08 at 3:18 pm | Permalink
FruGal wrote:
Good idea. And what a great opportunity for you.
Posted on 10-Sep-08 at 11:57 am | Permalink
Revanche wrote:
This was a good reminder to do a little praising of my own. I don’t know that my coworkers would be savvy enough to ask me to write a letter of recc for them upon MY departure but in the meantime, I’m taking it upon myself to dole out encouragement to those who are doing well.
Posted on 11-Sep-08 at 10:59 am | Permalink