OK, that’s nice – but what if my boss isn’t interested in “expanding my role” or hearing my new ideas?
This is usually the second most heard question from the disgruntled administrative assistant (right after asking how to break out of admin work). Role expansion in an administrative job has to be relevant and precisely applicable (much like any other job you have where you are aching for change).
This means that while your ideas may be “great” – they might be absolutely useless to your boss. This is dependent on the workplace culture, long term organizational goals and what’s needed most at a particular time.
If you can solve problems that are relevant to what needs changing now, you’ll be better off in the long run.
And, you won’t be so disturbed about the validity of your problem solving skills when the boss tells you that creating a company newsletter seems “unnecessary.”
The Moral of the Story is…
What is partly true: people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad bosses. A bad boss is different for everyone, but they all have one thing in common: they don’t give you the tools you need to successfully navigate a job or expand your career.
However, some jobs are not meant for the long, forever run. In fact, no job is meant to be like that, especially now.
This is particularly true in the age of the knowledge worker. If you want change, expect your career to be more like a mosaic with various bits making up a whole.
It will not be a series of chronological stops and starts, but three-dimensional with the everything being an exercise in juggling talents and skills across a broad, professional platform.
To this, I would also say, your 9 to 5 job is not the only way to expand your career in the professional sense.
Next, expanding a role without the boss’s help, one duty at a time