Yeah, I missed a week posting. The way things are going, I can barely keep up.
We’re getting lots of new people. Between this past week and
the end of the month, we’re getting 10 people in my department. One of the
newbies in the other department came from a post where there were only 12
Americans TOTAL. We were talking about some stuff and the contrast in
perspectives was rather jarring, not in a bad way; just in a “wow, I forgot
that kind of thing was possible” kind of way.
So Thursday evening I was at the airport, waiting on one of
the newbies to arrive. We had three people coming in on that flight and four in
that night. Of those, only one was not in my department. (He is one who is in
the same position I am, though, in another department, and is on his third
tour, so I am looking forward to meeting him.)
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| Looked bizarre so I thought I'd try it. "New feeling of soda beverage"? . |
My department has one big boss, two “deputies” who double as
“unit chiefs” and then two more unit chiefs. Of these, I have a new big boss, one
new deputy and one new unit chief. It’s been a lot of turnover at the top, and
the entire atmosphere of the department has shifted. And it’s shifted in a good
way.
This is not to say it was in a bad way before. I do not mean
that whatsoever. But the new combination of people seems to mix differently
than the previous combination of people. So far, the results have been
overwhelmingly positive.
When you do teamwork workshops and all that, they say that
there are four stages of a team: storming, forming, norming and performing, and
you go start over at each personnel change. With a total of over 60 Americans
in the department who are on two-year tours, that’s an average of one team
member coming and one team member going every two weeks, that’s a lot of time
spent in the “storming” phase, just because you can’t get out of it.
But so far, it’s been nice. Of course I say that with the
top redone but the first-tour turnover just starting. A bunch of people already
left and their replacements are the ones who are starting on Monday.
And the new boss. … I love him. It’s just a very different
managing style than before, and I have been included in it. One of the first
things he noticed is that I’m it in my position. Everyone knows that somewhere
in their brain, but the realization of me having no backup struck him, and he’s
already made queries to rectify it. If I am on leave, there are two people
(local staffers) who sit at my desk, but my work goes largely undone. Someone
who could jump in if I wanted, say, a three-week vacation, would be welcome.
New Boss also was shocked to learn that I am not included in
managers’ meetings. I’m not a manager, so no automatic invite makes sense, but
since I am “the closest thing to omniscient” that we have (this is what the
other new unit chief told me; he’s a fast learner), it makes more sense that I
am clued in on what is happening now and what is being considered. I was also
given a chance to speak about some administrative issues and encouraged, as
well as empowered, to do something about it.
It’s a definite change of pace. I’ve had several people walk
up to me and congratulate me for getting this new boss, although I had zero to
do with it. (He did say, however, that in his two decades or whatever, I was
the most informative and thorough in reaching out to him as a new employee. All
three of the higher-up newbies were utterly shocked that I said hi, then handed
them their business cards, which I’d ordered months ago.)
It’s been so good this first full week that the old “deputy”
told me she was a little concerned that it just could not possibly be this
good, so there had to be some inevitable doom headed our way.
Until then, though, I am going to enjoy it.
I have, however, been incredibly busy trying to get people
settled in and close out the old regime while starting on the new. Several
times over the last two weeks, I have franticly working on something and
realized that people were walking past my desk in droves. (I sit near a door.)
I looked down at the clock on my screen each time and realized it’s past 5 p.m.
I’m just that busy right now.
That’s a little funny because it reiterates every post is
different. I was communicating with a friend in Astana and she asked me what
“my consular officers” were doing. Taken aback because we’re so busy, I asked
for clarification. Apparently they have one person in that department there and
that person has gone on vacation because there’s nothing to do. My folks, on
the other hand, are examining applications for 150k visas each month, and they
have had up to 20 temporary workers to help them out. This might be a slow time
for some, but it’s not for us.
Another friend who just left here worked in a different
section. There are only maybe nine people in it, but all but three changed
over. She’s just arrived back to the U.S. (and is eating well, I hear)
and asked how it was going, saying the transition was almost over, right? Uh …
for your department, maybe. We’re just getting starting.
But so far, it’s looking good, even if it is going to be
super busy for awhile. I don’t mind busy.
Today, I took the couple I sponsored to the glasses market
and to see a couple of things around the city. We went to this place where you
can buy all kinds of Chinese chintz and I found a little dresser things that I
like. I’d seen a similar – but way higher priced – one in Hong
Kong earlier and I got the guy’s card. I’ve been to that place one
time before and was overwhelmed but did better this time. It’s something like
seven floors of crap – very intimidating. But if you think you need it, it’s
there. You just have to find it. Zippy would love it.
No great plans for the rest of the weekend. I’m just basking
in the happy work environment.
My new boss brought me Junior Mints. How awesome is that?
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