Nick, the Technical Manager, suddenly announced he was going on leave.

Oyat had just resumed his new position as Training and Technical Development Manager (TTDM) less than 3 months earlier.

But even though he knew the job reasonably well (having acted twice in that capacity), he’d never had to do it without what he considered the reassuring presence of the TM as department head (HOD).

So, the prospect of having to cover for Nick by attending management meetings with other HODs was not one that greatly appealed to him.

Nick had apparently already made his plans, and after briefing Oyat, took off on leave.

For over 6 weeks afterwards, Oyat found himself dealing directly with other HODs on issues relating to his own job as well as the TM’s.

Realising that he had to do his best to avoid making the department fall short of expectations, Oyat quickly adopted a modified daily routine to accomodate the additional responsibilities assigned him.

He stayed back longer to read up notes, memos and other documents, such as the Job description for Nick’s position, to better understand the role he might need to play on the company’s premises.

In addition, he studied reports sent by other HODs to the TM, noting the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) that were given priority attention.

Recalling that senior managers from headquarters could also call for information along the above lines, Oyat then made a point of tracking latest data for each KPI, by liasing with the relevent department’s duty personnel.

The 6 weeks went by fast. And all through, Oyat worked longer hours when necessary to cover potential loose ends he identified.

As he attended to the requirements of the TM’s job, he also had to manage 6 engineering trainees, 3 training instructors and the secretary.

And that was apart from fulfilling his responsibilities as a member of a few project teams.

Steeling himself (and pleading that his wife imagine he did not exist for the duration of the double role playing), he diligently went the extra mile to ensure everything that needed to be done, got done.

Towards the end of his trial by fire, it suddenly occurred to him that he had settled in to a comfortable routine for doing the key tasks relevant to Nick’s job, and his (there was a lot in the former, that he was of course not competent or required to handle).

It was exciting and quite fulfilling to discover that the challenge of the trial had not overwhelmed him.

And he was glad, based on hindsight, that he had resisted the temptation to protest or complain when Nick had first muted the idea.

Not only had he gained valuable management experience and exposure at a senior level of decision making, but he had also proven that he could hold his own should the need arise.

From experience, he knew that top management would remember that in future career advancement evaluations. And that made his efforts worthwhile!