I Don't Wanna Be A Pirate

I have once again experienced life getting in the way of plans. It irks me when this happens because I should be able to set priorities and set a schedule and stick to it. I know all the tricks. I apply them all the time. So why was maintaining my blog such a chore for me in April? The answer, my day job. But in a good way.

I'm currently managing at team of 16 plus 2 additional people. It's an interim thing that I've been doing since January. We have a new manager for the team of 16 who will be back to take up the mantel on the 10th. In the meantime, I'm stretched. Way beyond stretched some days. And I use all my energy at work motivating the team and helping them with their questions and student situations. Don't get me wrong, it's been fun and challenging, but I don't want to be a supervisor of 16 people. Not for my first foray into supervision. I found myself saying to my husband after particularly challenging days, "I don't wanna be a pirate!"

For those of you not in the know, this is from an episode of Seinfeld where Jerry somehow agreed to wear a puffy pirate shirt on TV. Jerry didn't want to wear the shirt and be seen as a pirate.

I want to coach at work. But I don't want to have 16 direct reports. It's an experiment that needed to be done and I'm glad for it. I know I have it in me to supervise and some day maybe that's what I'll be. But right now I want to focus on other things and it's good to know that about myself. Fear had kept me from this type of role in the past and I can honestly say fear is no longer a factor. :)

What's your pirate shirt? Have you tried it on for size before discarding the idea all together? If yes, what did you learn? If not, what's holding you back?