Hello
If you missed out on the initial part of the story you can access it here.
Starting from where I left off. Being ambitious and driven I found that every 2 years it was time for me to seek the next challenge. I decided to apply for a position within the group of companies I worked for still within IT Operations. During the interview we started to explore other possibilities and for the first time I stepped into a Sales role. This role was seemingly not natural to me and I focussed on utilising my strong relational and delivery skills. The account was run on a national level with many moving parts and the supporting team was large. I had some experience in this industry prior which was helpful as I stepped into this role. Little did I know what extent of accountability and responsibility I was taking on. The long hours continued and included travel.
In 2010, I realised that I didn’t have the next step for my career figured out. Do you always need to have it figured out? For me it was important to plan what I was going to set out to achieve and how I was going to get there. We all know that life doesn’t work that way. Up to this point my planning seemed spot on yet it was about timing and embracing opportunities as they arose. I went in search of a life coach thinking that having guidance on a self-directive approach would reconnect me with the sense of where I was going. It didn’t.
One morning at the office staring at my inbox the phone rang. Yet another issue had arisen which required my attention. At this point I realised how overwhelmed and tired I was. A much needed break was on the cards. Little did I know that I was past the point of a holiday recouping my energy reserves. I had burnout. Superwoman’s wings were clipped. It took me 2-3 weeks to disconnect from work and stop doing all the tasks I never seemingly had time for at home.
Returning to work a unanimous decision was made that a role with less pressure was required at this point. Some tenders had come in which required a coordinator to complete the bid management process pulling multiple parties together to ensure we met the required deadlines for submission. This was an interim role.
We explored some alternative roles within the organisation where I could continue to add value with my skills. A new department in Johannesburg was established in which I would fulfill a management role to coordinate the delivery of this function. I started to commute between Cape Town and Johannesburg and use video conference facilities when I was not physically present. At first travelling for work was luxurious until you do many red-eye flights and are away from your family often.