Choosing to Shine Amidst a Crisis at Work

I was SO lucky to get this job straight out of college. It's at an amazing and world-renowned zoo (and non-profit), the staff are fun to work with, and the perks of the job (feeding elephants?!) are unlike any other. Once I finally got my feet planted any established myself amongst my peers, I started working on 2 major projects: a brand-spanking-new discounted student membership program and a total re-design of the corporate membership program. However, all of this was put on hold before I could really nail down the details.

I've been doing customer service for months and it's been difficult, to say the least. I'm not cut out for customer service. I do not have patience for answering the same questions over and over and over again. I don't like it that I have to return 40+ voicemails and emails a day from angry members. Long story short, it's tried my patience. Since I don't have time to do my actual job at work, I've been logging work hours on the weekends. I usually bus it up to Ladro on Upper Queen Anne and work on the student membership or corporate membership program, in the hopes that they will both be ready for launching in a few months.

Have you ever been in a situation where you've had an expectation for your job and because of some twist of fate (or a broken down database) you've ended up having to do something completely different? How long do you stick it out before you start looking for something else?

I was getting especially frustrated and confused, so I e-mailed my good friend and mentor Margo Myers to see if she would come meet me for coffee and advice. She graciously agreed and joined me at work for a much-needed chat. She gave me some great advice about the things that I can do to build up my resume while I'm waiting for this crisis to blow over, so that I'll be ready if a better position opens up. She made me realize that even though I don't like where I'm at in this moment, it's not the right time to change jobs and that I can make the best of the situation by making myself shine.

For now, I'm choosing to shine. I'm treating every member's question like it's the first time I've heard it. I'm making it a personal challenge to clear the voicemail mailbox by the end of each day, and I reward myself when I do. I devote a couple hours on Saturday and Sunday to working on my student membership program and corporate membership re-design. Oh, and I do all the other "regular duties" like overseeing all our acquisition/lapsed/renewal mailings. Not to mention volunteering for other Devo (Development) events so that everyone knows how dedicated I am to our team. (Plus, the goal is to move over to the Wild at Heart team and work with the major donors. Volunteering for their events is a great way to start networking with them now!)

I'll conclude with one of my very favorite quotes.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

-Marianne Williamson