Today’s Morning Buzz is by Kayla Barber-Perrotta, the Deputy City Manager for the City of Albany, Ore. Connect with Kayla on LinkedIn.
- What I’m eating: Kroger brand toaster pastries
- What I’m watching: “Taskmaster: New Zealand”
- What I’m working on: Getting projects to a pause point as I am leaving for a two-week trip to Portugal and Spain!
A year ago, I wrote about changing jobs — about the tension between staying in an organization that is comfortable or taking the leap into unknown challenges with a new organization. Those articles (It’s Time to Change and Just a Matter of Time) were full of messy emotions, hope, and a sprinkle of impostor syndrome — all the real human aspects of making a job transition.
As such, I thought this article would be a perfect time for checking in and sharing how my experience has evolved and settled (or not) in the last year, as on July 29, I officially hit the one-year mark at the City of Albany. And, as I’ve been told, I can no longer play the newbie card. Luckily, I don’t really feel I need it anymore. I’ve crammed a lot of experience and relationship building into this last year, and I am definitely not the same person who walked in the door in last July.
The Challenges
I won’t sugarcoat it: this year was difficult. Uprooting my life and moving away from family and my home was more difficult than I could have imagined. Homesickness hit hard (especially during the Oregon rainy season), and my husband’s job search has been an ongoing struggle. At the same time, I walked straight into organizational challenges that no amount of research could have prepared me for. We had significant financial catch-up to do, a structurally unbalanced budget that required some pretty difficult discussions, under-staffing across the board, and technology systems that needed some serious investment.
That mix created an enormous amount of pressure to get things sorted, especially as many items had tight legal deadlines or impacted people’s jobs. There were stretches when the weight of trying to “fix it all” took a real toll on my health, and when I really questioned if I had royally messed up in making the move. It took a lot of re-framing my expectations, proactively setting up new routines both personally and professionally, and making new connections to feel a sense of belonging.
Things I’ve Learned in My First Year
- Growth often comes through discomfort. Even though there were some really hard periods, each day I made it through proved just what I could overcome and how far I could go. I am a stronger leader, manager, and person than I was a year ago.
- Relationships are the key to a successful transition. Even as I was checking projects off, I never really felt grounded until I had found my people. Finally having someone I could go to with a silly question, someone to vent to, or someone to bounce ideas off of was tremendous.
- Balance isn’t about having no stress or not working hard; it’s about setting firm boundaries. This can be especially hard in a new role as you feel a pressure to “prove yourself,” but you are no good supporting others if you aren’t first supporting yourself.
- Routines outside work are important. The first several months just felt like getting through the week, and then the next, and then the next. It wasn’t until I was able to build up my garden and get back to exercising that life didn’t feel like a series of check boxes.
- Big changes take time. It is easy to focus on everything that isn’t working right or that still needs to be done. You have to stop and take a look back at how far you’ve come or you’ll crush yourself under the weight of where you need to go.
The Takeaways
Transitions take a long time. You’ll feel like you are drowning, then that will transition into treading, and eventually a full-on swim. I’ll let you know if I ever find the secret to a nice, relaxing back float. You have to be patient with yourself in the process and make space for the people in your life who are also adjusting alongside you.
As I look ahead to year two, I’m excited. We’ve made significant ground in building and refining several processes and bringing on some fantastic new employees. The fact that I was on the front lines with employees through some difficult projects and stood my ground on needs during budget discussions this year really helped me build trust and respect with the team; that is in turn allowing me to champion exciting new programs and projects. I have become more involved in the Oregon City/County Management Association, and built a network beyond just Albany. Overall, I feel like year two offers tremendous opportunity to feel like I am making some real achievements and coming into my own in this role.