If you remember the story about the girl that was struggling with managment having to keep her 4 big accounts, manage a consumer group and a regional csr group, and take on a completely different division and try to make it work. I rec'd a lot of really great advice, I took them to heart and really appreciated everyones feedback. So here is where I stand today. Yesterday it came to a point where my boss felt it just wasn't working and I came to a point where I agreed with her. So I stepped down from my management duties. My niche is doing my key accounts and I just felt that I am not management material, it just wasn't in my makeup. I tried, I did not succeed but at least I tried. My boss's boss was really supportive of the decision and says she values what I am about and that no one else works my accounts better than I do and I value that from her, she is a Sr Vice President of the company so it made me feel better that I won't be looked down upon her of all people. I do have to say, I am not looking forward to the announcement on this step down, as there will be loads of questions, but I am taking the owness and making it positive for all and no one gets hurt. I mean we both agreed to it afterall and now I am releived and happy about it. so thank you all for your advice.

Everyone needs to do what is best for them. You tried, you gave it your best and then you decided to step down. No shame in that......you need to be happy with what you are doing....if you think it best then it probably is....

Best of luck to you in everything....be happy..thanks for posting and keeping us up to date.

Hi Duran2, I think you have a different member ID, but I think I have the right person I recall in my head, based on your synopsis here.

I understand why you would feel a sense of dread about an "announcement" and a lingering sense of having not made it.

Pati's right, and I think there are lots of people who would echo the thoughts. Sometimes the right decision is to "quit" something, sometimes the right decision is to choose "happy." You have to have the right ingredients to prepare something worth eating. Why would a job automatically have all the right attributes to it if all the ingredients don't work for you? Just a late-evening analogy form me, don't look for a lot of Shakespeare out of me, ha ha.

A lot of times, people don't choose "happy" because they see themselves as disciplined individuals that have to live up to standards--changing your course of action, changing your mind, "quitting," "moving back" are things that seem like they are ways of not being disciplined or dedicated on the surface, especially when in business life/customer service life, Perception = Reality. You want to live up to those standards.

But real life does exist beyond what immediate perception tells us, work is done by people, and people are not surfaces, they're complete beings. There is a surface issue you don't like ("stepping down" from the position you moved into and the "news" of it). But there is a whole other range to the situation here, and that is the talent in you that is worth keeping and positioning in the right territory. Your higher-ups will have their own version of not liking the news, as this is not what they would have expected months ago. In a sense, those higher-ups work for you too! They need to know what to do with you and your talents to make your company successful, and they needed some guidance from you as well....don't think they were the only ones doing the guiding through these last several months. And don't think of it so much as stepping down. You're moving to an area where it sounds like you are going to thrive. Bigger things may evolve for you out of that move as time goes on. My guess is you are not going to be bored and that you will find it rewarding to be in the role you are taking on now. You need that comfort zone until you discover a new one matches you.

All the best and I'll watch for you in these message threads.

Ayaree,
I do appreciate all the advice you have to give, I look forward to your responses. I am much better doing the "old job" and its a better fit. It was discussed with the dept this week and it was spun to a good and positive thing and that is all I could ask for and it was an understanding by alot of the girls that I did have way to much on my plate and even they recognized it. I am going to be much happier and more content in doing what I am good at then what I wasn't good at. So its all good. Even my boss's boss said to me that there was no shame and that there is no one that can do what I do for the company and that she doesn't think any less of me and she said to me how much she values me and that made me feel so much better within myself. So hey, I tried, it didn't fit and at least I was able to go back to the old job and continue on. My other option if that wasn't an option was to quit and that would only hurt the company more as I do handle about 70% (so i am told) of the companys business and that is alot considering we are a billion dollar company. Thank you for your support.

Duran, I'm glad you are keeping the best outlook on this. It's certainly nothing to sneeze at to be handling such huge accounts, as I have thought all along. There are some cases where people that are the managers of people in a role like yours might feel like they are missing out on the gratification involved in having direct control of customer satisfaction. I don't feel that way personally as a manager usually, as I get a lot of satisfaction out of the people management side (sometimes that is all that is rewarding). But I can think of times when I did feel like the hands-on satisfaction with a customer issue was missing.

It sounds like you have some senior management who are really "with it." They gave it a shot just as much as you did, and they reacted to what needed to change. I had been trying to keep you pumped in the manager mode in case it was the right thing for you in previous messages from me, but I recognize that I wasn't in the right ballpark. It was worth a try, ha ha.

Not sure what possibilities may exist down the road at your particular company or if you will want to pursue them. My interpretation of the situation tells me that you are going to want to get a good feeling out of being in the proper element for a while, so I say yes, do that. Would also not want you to lose sight of the fact that there may come a time when you want to spread wings again. There was a time when I didn't want to be in a management role again (I wanted to be concerned with logic and subject matter and not people needs), and then it just happened. There may come a time you wind up in management after you have learned something new or you may move into sales or something my crystal ball is not telling me. In any case, the main thing is to go at it (or not) with the fresh outlook that you have. By choosing "happy," that's a lot smarter than a lot of people know how to do!