Happy Poppies Day

It seems that spring has FINALLY sprung here in Chicagoland. After seventeen straight months of cloudy, cold, rainy/snowy/slushy weather, it's 68 and sunny. I am not working in the den as per my usual style, but am on my chaise lounger outside on the patio. The sun feels SO good. Hiring a housekeeper was the best decision ever; I now spend my weekends working and relaxing...but not cleaning!

Things are looking up at work (mostly because I'm MAKING them look up). The last time I posted, I expressed some frustration and sadness about the events transpiring with my pseudo-promotion. I accessed the records of my new departments and found a staggering pigsty. My gut reaction is to roll up my sleeves and dig in. I even accessed the last Employee Satisfaction survey results and wonder if anyone even looked at them. It's bad. So while I hate this cliche statement, my work is definitely cut out for me!

I'm also processing a few other things right now. Have you ever heard of Tall Poppy Syndrome? I am starting to feel hazy from the opiates. Tall Poppy addresses the social and cultural phenomenon of forced inertia...basically, when a member of your peer group excels, you criticize them, cut them down, or sabotage them to 'encourage' them to stop achieving and excelling. Their success makes you look bad and your instinct is to pull them down.

Another example used to illustrate this concept is crabs in a bucket. One crab starts scaling the wall and the others pull him back down to the bottom.

I'm not saying I'm achieving everything I want or that I'm so wonderful. Not it at all. But what I'm wondering is if my immediate peer group at work is trying to 'encourage' me to slow down a bit. This whole tumultuous situation is making me wonder about the entire group's dynamics. It's scary. How can you turn a hospital around when not everyone's completely on board? I've been adding a lot to my list lately, regarding the type of boss I *don't* want to become. I almost learn more from peoples' weaknesses and bad decisions than I do the good ones!

I'm doing my absolute best to turn that negative energy into positive steam to keep this engine chugging up the hill. Regardless, this is my way of digesting those feelings, by writing about it.

I attended a c-suite dinner the other night at Coopershawk. The food and wine is always divine and this event was a chance for those of us who hope we are c-suite bound to interact with current inhabitants of the c-suite. We talked about succession planning (or, in our case, the lack thereof). The entire discussion (about 18 people) made me painfully realize that my career is my responsibility. My advancement, my achievement, and my future? Yep, all my responsibility.

So THAT is how I am taking all this negative mojo from work and spinning it toward the positive. Right now, my entire job is a constant exercise of turning lemons into lemonade. Or limes into lime juice...for margaritas, of course! It's all about attitude and I'm bound-determined to not let the Tall Poppies have their way. I'm not going to self-select out of the game and let them win.

[Taking deep breath to cleanse my aura. Picturing the clear, turquoise waters of Grand Cayman...ahhhh.]

In other news, Jack and I finished our bedroom, having found the perfect bedding to compliment our wall pictures and curtains. We have not yet purchased new bedroom furniture (not high enough up on the priority list), but our house is basically done. I still can't believe I let Diva Jack talk me into 630 thread-count sheets. But they *are* nice. I woke up this morning thinking I was in a hotel.

This was my mothers' day gift to myself (shut up, I know you rationalize expensive purchases, too!). Even though I am not a mom, technically, I do a lot of mothering to others. I was particularly struck this year by how many people wished me a Happy Mothers' Day. When you get to a certain age, I guess people just assume you're a mom. So I wish them a Happy Mothers' Day back, even to the guys. They dig it, I can tell.

Happy Mothers' Day!