The problem with moving on up
With great power comes great everything else.
When you start a letter on Substack, you get to pick two categories to live in. They’re pretty general so I chose Business and Art & Illustration. I think my letter is a cross-section of both but not a perfect fit for each, at least for now. Much like this app, it’s a work-in-progress.
The content within these categories is a mix of inspirational, entrepreneurial, and literal art. On the Business side, it’s stuff about personal development, self-improvement, growth hacks, and productivity. Over at Art & Illustration, it’s a lot of pretty pictures and creator inspo.
If I’m being honest, I don’t want this letter to be any of that. I am not a self-improvement guru and I do not want to write about what you should do and why. My drawings are funny instead of pretty. The plan was to write a mix of posts about creativity and work that would range from the personal to the practical. I just started so it’s all a work-in-progress. So far, I’m pretty happy with the results. I’m also open to feedback.
Thanks for reading, subscribing, and pledging your support. It all really means a lot. If you have any suggestions on what you’d like to see more of on here, please leave them in the comments below. Now on to today’s letter.
Getting feedback and opinions. Talking to people. Doing research.
It’s all part of the job, whether I’m working on something I am writing for myself or I am figuring out business strategy at work. Between meetings, conversations, listening to podcasts, reading the news (and newsletters!), getting notes, and doing research, there is an endless flow of ideas, notes, feedback, things to do, things to follow up on, and things to be worried, thinking, or learning about.
It’s overwhelming, frankly.
You spend the early part of your career planning your next move, setting goals, and strategizing how you’re going to get that promotion or next big job. Maybe you’ve even set your five- and ten-year plans. I’m at the point where I’ve accomplished those early goals, made the moves, and lived through my plans, adjusting accordingly.
Now, there’s just a lot of other stuff to do and manage.
The first time I realized that this is what it’s like later in your career, especially when you get to a higher up position, was when I got my first leadership role at a real company. It was a podcast company, but a real company nonetheless. I kid, of course, but startups can often feel like everything else but a real, functioning place of business.
Anyway, the story of how I got the job is a tale for another time. The most important thing to know is that this wasn’t the job I was initially hired for, and it wasn’t something I had done before or that I even really dreamed of doing. It was a leadership role managing a big team and a huge project with a lot of, I’ll just say, needs. I had been working with the team for a few months as a producer, so I learned what those needs were and saw how I could contribute effectively. So when the leadership position opened up, I knew I was the right fit.
I should say this was early in the pandemic when everything was topsy turvy including my career trajectory. I was sort of stuck in this boring producer role, after having done a lot of independent producing and even hosting my own show. Things felt stagnant.
This leadership role had more responsibilities including managing people and interfacing with external partners. Lots of logistics and operational things to figure out too. But given the state of the world and my career, I was hungry for a new challenge.
I took a giant leap and threw my hat in the ring. I knew I wasn’t the first choice. I pitched myself hard. I’d never done anything like that before. Maybe I’ll talk about it more next time, but all you need to know right now is that it actually worked.
I got the job.
It finally felt like I was moving on up.
Never mind that the paycheck barely reflected the title. (Story of my early professional life, and, again, for another time.) My career was finally in motion.
The promotion felt like I now had the incredible opportunity to take the company elevator and ride up to the next floor where all the other Important Company Leaders would be waiting for me with arms wide open. In unison, they would say, “Welcome to the club.”
Of course, this elevator and new office was figurative. This was the pandemic and we were all working remotely.
But yes, in theory, I got to finally take the elevator up to see what was in store for me.
So that’s what I did.
When the elevator doors opened on the next floor, I was shocked and horrified. The floor was not only a mess, it was basically on fire. As the new leader of the team, it was my job to clean it all up.
It’s a funny thing to learn that when you move up, you have access to so much more, good and bad. With each bigger job, I have been privy to more exciting opportunities as well as more shit to clean up. I understand that this all depends on the gig and, sure, perspective. I’m speaking mostly for myself but I do think this applies to most management positions at least. With great power, comes great responsibility. Mo title, mo problems, and not always mo money.
Plus, the higher you go, the noisier it gets. More pressure from higher ups. More opinions from stakeholders. More issues to resolve. More meetings to sit through. More emails to read. More things to review. More direct reports. Just MORE.
Again, it can be overwhelming. Like curl-up-into-a-ball-and-lay-under-the-desk-and-never-get-up overwhelming. Or is that just me?
I don’t have solutions for any of this. I think you just have to learn to deal and, obviously, there’s therapy. But what I have also found is that, with more noise and more crap, comes more of a need to know when to tune things out.
Learn to trust yourself. Trust your gut. Trust your instincts. That’s why you got the job in the first place, right?
I will admit that, lately, it’s been hard to tune things out. There’s a lot swirling around me, a lot to hold in my tired brain, a lot going on in the industry. I’m a big picture person and that can be a blessing and a curse.
But I’m working to edit the things I don’t need out. Focus on the goals ahead. Keep the good energy in. Trust my gut. I feel like when I do this, the floor doesn’t feel so crappy anymore.
That’s what happened at that big job. I cleaned up the giant mess and put out all the fires. Was it easy? Hell no. But eventually, after a lot of hard work, perseverance, spreadsheets, and meetings… the whole thing started running on its own. It was actually kind of fun. At one point, it didn’t really need me anymore. That’s when I knew it was time to move on up again.
What’s up?
I got sick this week so not a lot, to be honest. I have tried to protect some time in my schedule to write and work on my own creative projects. It’s worked somewhat and it’s honestly been really nourishing and fun. I hope to keep going with it.
What’s new?
A lot of old, actually. I’ve finally gotten into Industry and Hacks. Very good. No spoilers, please.
On the lookout for easy laughs, I restarted the first season of 30 Rock. There are definitely problematic jokes and details that do not hold up… but, damn, the show is hilarious. I actually really did want to be Tina Fey way back when. What millennial writer girlie, didn’t, I guess?
I’m a few years late but I finally started listening to the audiobook for The Big Picture: The Fight for the Future of Movies by Ben Fritz. Honestly, it plays like a thriller, at least for someone like me who has some professional ties to the subject matter. Especially interesting to read this amid the current moment we’re living through in the entertainment industry.
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Stay safe out there. See you next week.
I hope you’re feeling better!
I might have to start that book. Anything audio is for me because I find myself driving a lot these days. Also I’m going to take a look at Long Distance 💜.