Non WoW: Ambitious when the opportunity presents itself

Life has been moving at a fast pace for me lately. Changes are afoot for me in real life and it just seemed to remind me a little of events in game a few years ago.

It was almost 4 years ago when our guild moved from Dath'remar to Saurfang and I became the guild leader. Being the guild leader felt like a big step up for me in game in terms of responsibility, even though when I was doing it, it didn't feel that much different from doing the officer responsiblities I was already doing.

Recently, at work my head of department had expressed a desire to step down. He approached me about it last year and I said in a few years time I'd be ready. Kids were still young, I was hoping when they were in high school and a little more independent about getting to and from school I could pick up the extra responsibilities. Currently, as a supervisor of training in one facility and a director of a sub-department in the other facility, I was already heavily involved in departmental administration, and working across two different health facilities allowed me to see the strengths and weaknesses of both.

However, fast forward to this year and he told me that he was sick of the job and he would like me to do it. I was a bit stunned - excited (OMG wow he thinks I can do this), nervous (wait, can I do this?), anxious (is everyone else going to say can she even do this?), and a little bit worried (what is going to happen with family life?).

I guess I am amazed that my life has turned out this way.

When I started my training as a doctor, I just thought I'd be working an doing my bit. As I progressed through my specialist training I saw things I didn't like and thought how I'd like to change that one day. As I approached finishing I even surreptitiously implemented my ideas whilst playing on the vanity and laziness of the supervisor of training at that time - men are notoriously predictable and are easy to manipulate if you understand them enough.  When I went for my job as a consultant specialist I was asked "Where do you see yourself in five years?" I looked the panel members in the eyes and said that I would like to be a supervisor of training and help shape the training program that I went through to make it even better than it was - which brought some amused sniggers considering the supervisor of training was on the panel.

I didn't quite reach my goal - it was 6 years before I did become a supervisor of training (SoT). But for all those years before I became a SoT I organised my hospital's training program so that each trainee coming through knew what they were doing for the 4 years they were here, which no other hospital in the state does. I just dislike not having plans for things and the compulsive need to organise and fix things and make them better helped a lot with that.

I did not envisage myself being the head of a growing department 5 years after I had achieved my work goal.

It is interesting how it came about. One thing I have noticed about medical practice, especially in NSW, is people are very money conscious. Much more so that in Queensland or Victoria. Though admittedly ACT is also a very money driven state too.

What that means is that everyone is so busy chasing money here that nobody is particularly interested in improving or developing a health service. Now I am no saint, I have my private practice as well, but I enjoy helping to develop and shape my department, which is part of the public health system. But finding people to step up and take on responsibilities now is really hard! Nobody wants to do them!

Which is why I have ended up with so many responsibilities. In addition to all those things I am also a sitting member of the Drug Advisory Committee of both hospitals, Specialist Study Unit Supervisor, as well as leave allocations and approvals. Where would I find the time to run a department in addition to all these things!

So when the offer was presented to me, my mind started ticking. How was I going to juggle all this and do it well? The answer was simple. I had to drop everything else and focus on just doing this one thing. So I started trying to find replacements for all my administrative duties. I managed to get it all sorted and my succession plan was sorted so I could transition to my new role.

I wonder how much busier I would be with this new role. Everyone has had their 2c that they want to say, including how it's a poisoned chalice, that it's such hard work and that I will be sick of it very soon. I think some people wonder if I will abuse the power that comes with the position.

But if I look back at how I moved to guild leader from officer, this isn't that much different. Suddenly I had all the power. What have I done with that power? In fact, it's been more about great responsibility than great power, as I strived to find the balance in the guild that would keep it casual yet also have good players and people here too. And some may beg to differ, but I am very pleased with my guild and what it has become.

I want to make my workplace something similar. No, not a bunch of casuals and heroic raiders! I want it to be a place that people enjoy working at. A place where everyone is treated fairly. Somewhere that people are proud to be a part of.

If I can do that in a computer game then maybe I can do it in real life too. Wish me luck!