Down the Rabbit Hole

Promotions Are not Rose-Petaled Paths to Success

30 Day Blogging Challenge
PROMPT September 3rd
What is the Hardest Part of Your Job? Tell us how you deal with it.

I've been an airport brat ever since I started teetering after my father in the early years he worked as an aircraft mechanic. By the time he and his partner purchased their own FBO, the smells and sounds of a busy aviation shop had become part of my landscape. I still love the smell of MEK and the whirl of gear swings, the buzz of the techs working in every corner and the stillness of the hanger in the morning with all those silent fuselages lurking in the dimness. Its always felt like home to me.

I spent all my summers working with the company even as I pursed my other interests. I believed I was destined for a different career, despite how much I loved working with my father. Even though I started down a distinctly different path in college, I managed to find my way back, as if it called me. Midway through college I switched my major from science to international business. I moved home and started working in the aircraft sales division of my father's company. I found that I was uniquely suited to contribute to the company's success between the skills I learned at school but also because of my long history of working in virtually every department over the course of my life.

I worked the fuel desk as customer reception, then moved to logs and records transcription for the maintenance department. I researched Cheyennes all over the world for the sales department and I did a stint as an interim GM for a satellite location we purchased. I even ran an international sales division overseeing some agents working in South American procuring aircraft for import and resale. Over the last 25 years, I've made a career in aircraft sales, working closely with my father. It has taken me a lifetime to build the tribal knowledge around this industry and this company. I cut my teeth in an industry that is largely male dominated and driven by egos. It has been a hard-won battle for my place. I strive to emulate the leader my father has been everyday. I care deeply about the families connected to this business, many of them have been with us nearly 40 years. I have tremendous pride in our people and our reputation. My job is a dream job. It is challenging and dynamic and rewarding. I love the work, especially when the deals are complex and the demand is high.

So what's the hardest part of my job? Being my father's daughter, hands down.

From an early age, I knew I had to work smarter and harder than everyone else because of who I was. I refused to be the co-worker everyone tolerated because I was the bosses' kid. I worked crappy shifts for crappy pay for years. I did every job put in front me, and volunteered to do the jobs no one else wanted. I never once took advantage of who I was. I never pulled rank and never was an asshole. I dedicated myself to the company, to taking on whatever tasks were needed to further its success. Many times that meant working with people who made far, far more than I did who did not share the same commitment to the "cause". Without the benefit of separation, work always followed us home. It's always easier to take out frustrations on family and I bore that too, like a badge of honor sometimes - often volunteering to "talk to him first" if a situation needed diffusing or a mistake needed explaining. here was a lot of frustration but there was also the sense I was building my own legacy here. One day I would be asked to step up, and I would be ready. When that time came, no one would question that ascension because after all, I'd put in all the same dues alongside everyone else all these years.

This past summer, my father said he wanted to start stepping back. He wanted me to take over running sales. There was never a question. I was ready, of course. What I had spent 27 years training for if not this? He made the announcement about my promotion and the reception from my peers and coworkers was amazing. The overall sentiment was that it was "about time I had been given a larger role" and the outpouring of encouragement and support meant the world to me. It was the best validation that I had built a career here of credibility and service and that I was truly respected by my fellow coworkers. It made me proud. It made my father proud.

BUT, not everyone shared those sentiments. My father's business partner, his CEO and CFO, flatly opposed any sort of ascension or empowerment for me. Their despondence came as a real shock because this was the team of executives that I work the closest with. I had always had a very candid and solid relationship with his CEO and right-hand man in particular. There were several uncomfortable meetings when my role was debated around the table as I was vetted as one might a new hire - not an employee who has put in nearly 26 years of dedicated service. I don't think I've ever seen my father as angry over the push back, furious that all but his closest advisors, supported a decision that had been in the making for decades. For someone who has operated under the radar as much as possible, it was emotionally painful to be in that spotlight causing discord and tension among the highest ranks.

Inevitably, my father's will won out. My promotion was approved thought it has been very bittersweet. In the process I have learned how some people really feel about my abilities and contributions and has been very discouraging and disappointing. It isn't easy coming to work every day to do a job you love but know some of those most power people in the company are waiting for you to fail at. The zero confidence that I feel from those I work closely with every day, is the hardest part of my job by far.