Confession I’m a Weird-at-Work- Barbie-turned-Wellness-Barbie
Spoiler alert: if you haven’t see Barbie you just must. I loved all of it but the last ten minutes. That’s another post. Greta Gerwig made history this weekend as Barbie earned $377 million at the global box office, the biggest debut ever for a female-directed film.
Rich with female bonding, girl power, girl-grit and self-exploration Barbie points out that every Barbie has her purpose. We need all different versions to make up the team.
Weird Barbie’s Ultimate Skillset:
In Greta’s Barbie movie, Weird Barbie lives in a house on the hill, outside of town. Dark sharpie-made circles of outlandish makeup - turned- wrong circle her one eye, her facial expression is permanently in dismay and shock. Weird Barbie’s Mohawk will be the Halloween wig of 2023 because deep down everyone wishes we could pull that carefree look off on a corporate zoom.
Looking at her overdone, mismatched life on the outskirts of Barbie Land, I felt akin to her equal parts exhaustion and wisdom. In her imperfectly shaped house, Weird Barbie has all of the intellectual property of Barbies gone wrong.
The big-ticket knowledge that lives within Weird Barbie lives within me, too-- the GPS to the real world, knowledge to fix imposter syndrome and best of all an infinite network of Barbies with badass skills to round out the entire Barbie team.
Name a person that hasn’t had a doll that was tortured by their own hands or a sibling or neighborhood bully with scissors, markers and glue. Maybe your Weird Barbie lived in an old shoebox under the bed without a toe or hang after the family puppy bit off an appendage.
Equally pervasive is the experience at work where we are tortured by an insecure or heartless boss.
I am Weird Work Barbie Confession explained:
I was Weird Work Barbie in the corporate career. I was unable to hide anymore in a dark office doing the dirty work of the very stressed out boss. My Weird ‘flare’ came in verbalizing the lack of alignment across priorities and goals with our true mission. The ‘Mattel Executives’ in my world became solely focused on their own survival masked in the bullshit of customer care.
Just like Greta’s Weird Barbie, I was often the only one people turned to. My strengths saved projects from dying on the vine with my knowledge of business cycles. I could unearth a huge issues, use my rolodex to get help and work with anyone in the firm to get things moving.
In 1.1 meetings with Managing Directors they’d comment “You are the only one who tells the real story around here.”
Asked to do work gymnastics, like Weird Barbie’s constant split pose, on the funkiest projects no one could fix or complete, work with the meanest, hardcore colleagues no one could get to mobilize, I got it all accomplished. And yet, I was put to pasture, but my Weird Work Barbie house was a basement apartment without extra pay or titles. Overtime, my contributions were taken for granted.
I found a way to investigate what I loved with my career coach 10 years ago. Looking inward helped me design my Wellness Platform that is still growing and evolving, as defined by me. Now, Weird Wellness Barbie, aka me, is so confident in what I’m doing, who I’m impacting, I’m turning down roles and opportunities that don’t align.
How to tell if you are Weird Work Barbie:
Your core values do not align to your work’s values. You’ll never get 100% match of values but they should run in parallel.
Priorities of the business steamroll your priorities. We all have to work to pay bills at varying levels but being micromanaged in a salaried position is not a healthy way to live long term. Can you accomplish your personal and professional priorities there? You already know the answer, don’t you?
Your career Vision does not align with your next role at your current company. It’s very easy to know, if you pay attention, to the options at your current company. Are the next 2 jobs what you actually want?
The Why you started the role with is not your current Why. Whether you hit a milestone in life or lost a loved one and or became a parent, your why can change and it’s time to look differently at life.
How to turn a Weird Work Barbie situation into your own Weird Barbie:
Never take a role based on the boss in mind--Bosses leave or move on or retire. Take the role that aligns to your career values and vision for 12-24 months. A great boss is a bonus but should not be the deciding factor.
Evaluate if the Weirdness at Work is short - medium - long term. A sprint is manageable and happens in everyone’s career but longer term you’ll need a new role to avoid long term weird burnout.
Interview outside of your organization. For some of you that might be in the same firm in a different role, starting something new or giving a side hustle a try. Interviewing is the best way to know your worth. I still interview all of the time.
Create a role- If you have 12-15+ years under your belt, you can work to negotiate a role that works with your skillset. Pitch, thoughtfully, the role that works for you
