Moving on up

So I got a promotion at work. I’m crossing over to the administrative side of things as the new regional director for our services in Oakland County. No longer a group home manager, I will be responsible for fun things like budgets, policy development and enforcement, and being the boss. This is my second week on the job, and I already miss my old one.

The transition is going to be a tough one, because I have to adopt a new mindset. In my previous position, I was directly responsible for ensuring the care of the people who live in the home. Now, while I’m still responsible for the people and the services they receive, I have to deal with the overwhelming needs of the corporation as a whole. This balancing act created a long standing line dividing administration from those who work directly in the home.

The division is not something blatantly spelled out, it’s more of a “that’s just the way things are” kind of thing. I always referred to it as the home side and the administrative side. I was perfectly happy being on the home side, in the trenches with the staff, questioning administrative actions. It wasn’t so much an “us versus them attitude,” but at times it appeared that way. We all work together, but each job position came with its own primary concerns.

Now, I’ve crossed over to the other side and I’m quickly finding out that administration has its own trenches. I still get to question things, but now it’s on the level of governmental agencies that are directly involved with the services we provide. Unfortunately, I’m still only one voice and now I’m in a much larger sea of bureaucracy.

One thing is certain, I won’t forget where I came from which will hopefully help bridge the gap between home staff and administration in my corporation. It’s going to be quite the dance, though as I have be cautious so as to not put my job in jeopardy.