Mary Ann Takes A Break

Sometimes with all that’s going on with the business transformation project, Mary Ann surprises herself with thoughts that seem to drop from the sky and don’t contribute at all to any particular workstream. Like how grateful she is for having such strong bladder control. And how they really should have been explicit about how necessary that would be when she was applying for the position. I mean, yes, strategic thinker, yes emotionally attuned, strong problem-solving skills; able to deal with conflict. But no mention at all about bladder control, nor the ability to keep going without lunch, or being able to juggle meetings so that you can join one late and leave another early and actually seem to attend more meetings than would be humanly possible in a day.

This day has been going just like any other, like a rocket ship at full throttle. And wouldn’t you know it, her concentration is being impinged upon by a growing internal pressure. How annoying! Was her bladder going to give her a hard time now too? She is fresh off back-to-back calls with managers entirely unhappy with the way things are going. One saying that they weren’t getting enough information about changes to come. The other saying that they don’t want their staff bombarded with unnecessary details. Next up, a meeting to discuss why project management is not sufficiently out in front of planning. Then there will be brainstorming about recent breakdowns in the escalation protocol. She checks her clock and does the time zone calculations. In about an hour she needs to circle around to see if the contractors in India are on track.  And let’s not forget the passive aggressive note from her partner about whether she’d finally be able to get free to join the family for dinner.

She thinks she might be able to take a quick break as soon as she can get off this call with Legal. Yikes, a message appears on her screen, from the big boss, to meet asap. Which of course is a top priority. But, actually, in this moment, her bladder has claimed ascendency, refusing to be denied any longer. So, she leaves her call in a flurry, rushes down the hall. In the aftermath of her relief, she suddenly craves something more. Something unreasonable. A cup of tea? Maybe there would be time? Hurtling down to the kitchen, putting the kettle on. Grabbing a handful of cashews. Precious minutes wasted. But in a blink she’s back, ready to hop on her call with the boss. Surely it will be ok?

Thirty-seven new messages. A major security breach! A blunt missive from her boss. Where is she? Everyone else wanting to know what to do. NOW!

Clearly, she has no time for unproductive thoughts but one comes anyway. Would a catheter be feasible?