Today was an alright day at work. I think the dynamic there has changed, but I don’t yet know what to make of it.

The first thing to set this change of dynamic in motion was my meeting with one of the guys who previously worked there; the guy whose stuff I was now supporting. He was nice enough, a little nerdy, but not conceited. He admitted that he didn’t really have the programming skills required to pull off the project he’d started some time ago, the project that he was now trying to explain to me in detail. He didn’t understand my questions about documentation, but he did understand my desire to see and understand the big picture, which, in addition to some other resources he showed me which I was previously unaware of, was enough to enlighten me as to the direction I needed to take.

Finally, some pieces of the puzzle that was given to me months ago had finally come into play.

Secondly, the dynamic changed because I’ve been given a rather unexpected and hefty responsbility: I’m the decision-maker on everything IT-related. Although the guy whom I replaced pretty much ran everything IT, it was never mentioned to me that I would be assuming the same responsibility. Well, today it was made clear, and part of that responsbility includes making sure the new guy, whom works Wednesday when I’m unavailable, is pulling his weight.

In order to do that, I’m expected to write him up a task sheet of sorts, and I’m to receive a report from him on his progress, and check that progress to ensure he’s not just making shit up. If he is just making shit up, or otherwise not doing what he’s meant to be doing, I have the power to decide that he’s asked not to come back to work the following Wednesday.

I totally wasn’t expecting this kind of responsibility, but now that I’ve thought it over, I’m glad that I have it. I don’t want to have an unmotivated, lazy or incompetent person filling in for me on Wednesdays. I want someone whom I can trust to get work done, not only because they have the motivation to do a good job but also because they have the skills to see their motiviation put to good use.

So, now I’m faced with a few new things: the big project I’ve heard everyone talking about is finally going to be underway as of tomorrow, as I’ve dispatched some instructions to my underling which will hopefully set wheels in motion. This project is bigger than anything I’ve contemplated before, not technically or even architectually (the game project I worked on at uni was probably of similar size, codewise) — simply because it’s an important thing for my boss, who I’m wanting to impress.

Let’s see how I go, eh?