The akwardness of changing roles // PROPAGANDA 011
Hey Team,
As we grow in our roles, our networks, our relationships, we’re naturally going to be exploring new territories that will feel awkward for us.
For me, right now that awkwardness is this: I’m no longer the maker.
This is a new role I’m stepping into. It means doing less of the actual production. In the early days Allie and myself would shoot all of the photography ourselves. Design everything. Write all the copy. Have every interaction personally with collaborators, artists, and customers.
But as a team grows, leaders must transition from 100% of the production to slowly step more and more back from the type making we’re accustomed to. And at some point, when the team is large enough, we shift almost entirely out of the “making” that most of us started with.
The goal of the leader as they grow is to dive into a new type of “making.” The type of making that is hard to define, but ultimately brings value to the organization.
And honestly for right now it kind of just feels like floating in some weird middle ground. But, like all growth, at first it feels like your falling, and then you find your feet underneath you and firmer grounds, until you jump off the ledge again into the next challenge.
Think for example, about Mark Zuckerberg. He heavily identified as a hacker and programmer in his early days. He built everything himself. He knew the software in and out. But now that he’s running the show at scale, his role has totally shifted. Now his sole job is to help his team thrive, story-tell, sell the brand, and communicate vision with the world.
This is VERY different identity than the identity of a programmer. And a big change from the philosophy of “move fast and break things.” The new making, for Mark, is spending time giving console, dealing with politics, Not Fucking Up the Culture, and removing barriers for those around you who are doing the work. He had to learn how to public speak. I doubt this was something he foresaw in his early days. He is now the sage-like-funnel for stress in the business, and the processor of that stress to lead his team through obstacles with confidence.
All of this means spending your time on things totally different than the easily identified output of producing a specific deliverable.
One of the hardest parts of this transition is accepting a new way of being seen among the group. You have a new definition of yourself among your work relationships.
You’re no longer “maker guy.” You’re “support the maker guy.” And your work is far less tangible. It’s harder to explain. You’ll ask yourself, “Is what I’m doing making a difference?” “Am I no longer valuable to the day to day of the business?”
Whether you’re in a leadership role or not, every time you grow, you’re going to be stepping into new territories and awkward-ness. It could be managing people for the first time, being thrust into a different department, or switching to a new industry.
So when you find yourself without ground to stand on, feeling a bit awkward in a group, know that you’re evolving. And role evolution is how you create and become something bigger.
// David @deathtostock
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