I had the incredible pleasure of spending a day with my boss on Thursday. This was out of the ordinary because I am remotely employed. He lives in Dallas, and I live in Durham. That's farther than I can throw a stone, so we hadn't met in person before.
The last person I worked remotely for was not my favorite. He is a good person in a lot of ways, but our personal and professional visions were not what you would call aligned. The things I would have loved to do for him, I am now doing with my current boss, Jamie. This is wonderful for me because it supports my long-term goals as a writer and instructor. It's wonderful for him because it supports his long-term goals as a provider of essential services to restaurant owners, managers and employees.
You wouldn't think there was much in common there, but as people we get along as if we've always known each other. This was not true of my last boss. He would give me direction that I couldn't make heads or tails of because our personal ideals were so far out of alignment. He did not do work for the queer community, did not support workers at the blue collar level, and while both bosses offer boutique services, my old boss never gave me creative license to write or represent because I couldn't understand his voice.
With Jamie, knowing when and where to be proactive is easy. If I see a gap that needs to be addressed in his services, I simply do the research and, where applicable, the writing that drives his business. Because I understand him and his hopes as a human being, I am able to engage work for him in a way that reflects him both personally and professionally. When we met, we did our 90 day check in. He had no concerns with my performance. Basically, he said I should keep doing what I'm doing and he will try to do better by me.
This was amazing to hear. Even though I racked my brain before he and I met up thinking of ways I could improve, I also was at a loss. I'm doing my best work for him and I'm proud of it.
With the last boss, I was doing the best work I could do within the parameters he gave me. He changed those parameters almost daily. This made him very difficult to work with, and I often felt like I was doing everything wrong. Ultimately, this wasn't my fault. He was disorganized, had never had an employee before, and (as his frequent changes in direction exposed) wasn't clear on what he wanted from me or how I could best support his company.
What I'm saying here is it is good to be valued. It's good that I can meet with Jamie once a week and never feel off track. It's good that my ideas are recognized and validated as good and useful instead of tabled for a later discussion that clearly will never happen. I am organized and on task daily, working 3-4 hours each day and getting more done for him in the last three months than I did in seven months of my previous employment.
Losing my last job was really, really hard on me. I couldn't figure out what I had done wrong, and the feedback I received never clarified my responsibility for the errors I did make. I felt like I was losing my grip on reality because I could see things going off the rails, but had no clue what I was doing to incorrectly steer. To mix metaphors, that job was a sinking ship, and I should have jumped from it far sooner than I did.
I used to be a person who always believed things work out for the best. While I don't see that as true anymore, I find that my general optimism is returning after a few years of pretty dismal living. This morning I woke up happy that I had to rework my daily schedule to accommodate the new work Jamie and I generated as well as a daily article for another company I write for. Were I still working my own job, this wouldn't be possible. There was no room for personal freedom. I felt drawn and dehydrated every day after work no matter how well I took care of myself.
It's truly a privilege to work in a position that makes use of my writing, editing, and social media skills. I'm building on those with the goal of getting a salaried position with a publication. I watch job postings daily looking for areas where I can grow my expertise to be the best fit possible. And I tell Jamie when I find those opportunities within his business. We pounce on them together.
I'm grateful. Grateful to not be working for someone who can't see what I have to offer. And energized. Like I said, I woke up this morning pumped for my date with my weekly calendar. I put in my must-dos and goals for the week and even found some flex time for a mini oceanside vacation this weekend. It's great to be able to realize my personal wants in conjunction with my needs.