Pat’s Point of View

My last few projects have included a fair bit of interviewing staff working for a variety of large organisations. As a rule of thumb for intranet work, I focus on the lower ranks rather than management types. And in talking to these people I’ve noticed something about my own career: I’ve never had an actual manager.

I’ve worked with great colleagues, I’ve had people I report to and I’ve had mentors, but never anyone managing my time or workload. This is no fault of my ‘boss’ throughout the years, and of course is probably indicative of the profession I have chosen, but it’s quite an eye-opener when you hear people telling you about their jobs and how their manager does just that; manages them. Their work load is managed, their time, their career progress, the information they receive. All in a very active way, not in a reactive “hey boss I need your help to manage this” kind of way.

In some ways it must be quite comforting to know you can just concentrate on the job at hand and someone else will worry about the rest, yet there also seems to be a lack of control and choice over what happens. I don’t know if I could work in that situation now, after living it up as I seem to have been doing, being autonomous and all that.

That’s a benefit of getting out there and talking with other people, you reveal your own perspective and prejudices.

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