Back then, it was all possibility and hope. Things were planned, we had lots of ideas and energy, and a shiny new contract. But the there was the requirement gaps, the suppliers that do not speak English and have to get things that were never designed to work with other things to seamlessly integrate with those other things. Swine Flu took out several members of the team. There were endless nights in northern hotels, where the locals like their menus written in comic sans; days spent looking blankly at colleagues from deepest, darkest Geordieland who may as well have been speaking Swahili. There was the afternoon of the Big Snow where a 60 minute drive home took me just over nine hours. I had to stop for a wee on the M3. This was live-tweeted. Oh the endless meetings with the client. There was the Board meeting that my adored Programme Director conducted via teleconference. As she pulled the Thunderpants of Victory over her suit trousers. While keeping a professional, straight face. Just as we started getting somewhere, a Volcano erupted, stranding colleagues all over Europe. At times it has felt as though God was cursing us with his wrath.
People who work on projects tend to be a stoic lot. And there is a natural fit with contracting: come in, deliver, get out, next project. There is usually very little attachment to the organisation itself, but the bonds created between the team are deep, sometimes life-long. All underpinned by the humour that on this project, has been brutal, black and so so welcome; life-saving. It all reassures me that my theories on this are bang-on: namely, wearing the same shirts doesn’t make a team.
I have learnt so much about what I need to thrive over the last couple of years: the work has to be filled with integrity, I want to be part of something that matters, I need to be in a position of influence, I want the opportunity to learn and grow, I am done with managing projects directly. Much like the deal-breakers I mustered while dating, this knowledge has helped me to focus my search for the next role. Tomorrow is my last day in Amazingstoke, and in a couple of weeks, I will be starting somewhere new.
It’s everything I asked for.
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Woo! And all the best to you on the next project :)
x
Ditto!
Could not agree more! Envious you have found your next role already, but good for you and good luck!