I Want To Be In The Room Where It Happens

A Guide to Understanding and Managing FOMO in the workplace

One of my main motivations for stepping up from a Software Engineering role into that of an Engineering Manager was to have a bigger voice in the decision-making process. Seeing leaders and managers going into a room and closing the door behind them had always presented a feeling of dread.

What are they talking about? What decisions are being made? How will it affect me?

The logical solution to this apprehension appeared to be an easy one: become a manager.

Unfortunately, the grass is not always greener on the other side. While becoming a manager provided more access to information, it created many new problems and challenges and did not resolve the underlying issues that were creating the anxiety.

The change in role and reflection upon the mental apprehension led to three conclusions:

• The conversations and decisions being made weren’t that much different in scope.
• There is always someone higher up making decisions that you will not be a part of.