#teamtova
Before I started this journey .. the most important project of my life, I was a Project Manager on a multi billion dollar petrochemical project in Baytown, TX. After my diagnosis, I had to leave that incredible role behind quite abruptly and shift my focus to self-care. And I loved my role. It was incredibly fun. It allowed me the opportunity to learn and grow, while leveraging leadership skills that I had developed over time. Speaking of leadership, I’m a bit of an extrovert (I’m sure you wouldn’t have guessed that) and my natural leadership style is based on building relationships. I think it’s important to have a respect for the individual before you can respect, appreciate, and challenge (if need be) the role that the person has. You have to appreciate the professionalism that your full team brings to the table. I also like to have fun, while challenging my team to exceed expectations. I figure .. if we are spending all this time on this project, it better be fun. I refuse to be miserable in anything I do. So if you work with me.. you’re gonna have fun whether you like it or not. 😜 Now, don’t get me wrong … that doesn’t mean that I’m a pushover. I know how to pull out the hammer when I need to. But balance is key!
So when I realized that I needed to take a leave of absence to focus on my health, I was a bit sad at first. Remember, my style is relationship based. And there were lots of people that I wouldn't be able to say goodbye to.. well, at least not the way that I would have wanted to say goodbye. These people are the folks that I may or may not run into again. They are employed by the Contractor that was selected to execute my project, not my ExxonMobil peers. Since my diagnosis occurred over the Christmas holiday, I didn’t get a chance to tell anyone directly. Honestly, I didn’t even clean out my office! ExxonMobil is no-fuss when it comes to stuff like this. The directive was to focus on my health, and they will take care of the rest. (So Thom, I’m looking to you to make sure I get my quirky office stuff back at some point! 😜)
So imagine my surprise when I got wind of some sort of movement that was going on in Baytown, TX. Apparently, I had a team of supporters in the field (that’s what we call the site where the construction happens). And this movement was called #teamtova. Scroll below to check out some of the photos:
Not to sound unappreciative of the support that I received elsewhere (because y’all know I love my village!), but this really means a lot to me. Let me tell you why. Typically, when you complete a project, there’s a high likelihood that you may never see the folks that work for the Contractor’s organization ever again. And with my road to recovery ahead of me, my role has been backfilled with another Project Manager to ensure the job gets done. In other words, there is a new boss in town! These folks don’t report to me anymore. And we may never cross paths again. They are showing support because they want to .. not because they have to. And for this, I am truly grateful. ♥️
