J's Exciting New Job

As I shared back in August, J got a new job as Senior Advisor in the Biosecurity Response Team. He has now been there for about a month, and we wanted to update you on how it's going. Spoiler alter: really well.

I'm still developing an understanding of what J does each day, partially because it can vary quite widely depending on what biosecurity threat he and his team are responding to. His knowledge and skills have been noticed and appreciated from day one, and he has already been asked to manage particular aspects within a major response, which is both intense and rewarding. J says that his job is to make things happen and to ensure that the government's response to a biosecurity threat is efficient, effective, and streamlined. He comes up with ideas, coordinates people's tasks, and gets people the resources they need to do their jobs well. He also contributes to the overall response plan, helping everyone think through the reasoning behind their actions and the benefits and risks involved. When something needs to be done, J figures out how to make it happen and distributes the workload so that everything is accomplished. This requires working with a wide variety of people, from farmers out at the site to policy-makers, and many in between. It also means that his team changes based on the specific threat that they're facing.

J finds this work very rewarding, and feels confident and happy with the positive impact his skillset has on his team. He has connections with lots of people in various positions from his previous jobs, so he's very useful in helping people work together. He also has a lot of background knowledge about how the companies and people involved operate, so he can come up with solutions that other people might not see. That is a huge contribution, as it saves time, effort, and money, and helps keep everyone happy. He also likes that his job isn't about developing a polished finished product, but rather about creating a system that will help other people get a job done, and it doesn't have to be pretty or perfect, it just has to be functional. That kind of grounded, practical thinking is a strength of J's, and something for which he is already being recognized.

Another interesting thing about this new position is that J will get to travel from time to time. He is spending most of this coming week on the South Island, handling some aspects of their current response on-site. This is another great way to build connections and broaden his horizons, which is wonderful.

Hopefully things will continue to go great, and he will have many opportunities to be in a leadership role.