AIBU to leave a temporary promotion when I feel out of depth?

[SugarSpunSoul]

Please help! I am in my mid fifties and work in the Civil Service. A couple of months ago I was offered a promotion on an expression of interest basis and without interview. My CV and personal statement scored so highly they just offered me the job. At the time I was thrilled.
I’ve since come to wonder whether that was a massive mistake, on both our parts.

I’ve moved from my substantive grade into a project management role in a completely different part of the organisation. I have no project management background whatsoever. I go to meetings with senior people where everyone speaks in technical jargon and acronyms I don’t understand, and I have to read back the transcript afterwards just to figure out what was discussed. I’m working alongside colleagues who are very strong on data analytics and I’m constantly asking them to translate their work into plain language so I can do my own job.

I’ve managed to avoid presenting so far but I know it’s coming and the thought of standing up and presenting about stuff I don’t even understand absolutely terrifies me and I am not normally that scared of presenting at meetings.

This is a temporary promotion lasting twelve months, after which I automatically return to my previous role. But I’m wondering whether I could go back earlier than that if I’m really struggling, or whether I’m essentially stuck until the twelve months are up unless I apply for something external.

I’ve recently been diagnosed with a serious health condition and I genuinely don’t want to spend what working years I have left feeling miserable, stressed and out of my depth.
A couple of questions for anyone who has been in a similar situation.

Should I give it more time, say another couple of months, before making any decisions? And would it look really bad on my CV if I left or moved on after only three or four months?

I should add that I applied for and took this role because I had started to hate my previous role due to bad management low team morale high stress and massive workload, so while I would be happy to back down a grade I would not want to go back to that team for longer than necessary.

Whether you can go back or not depends on your secondment contract at it isn't really something Mumsnet knows better than your line manager and HR. So you need to discuss it with them. Do you have regular supervision and if so, did you voice any of the challenges you are facing?
As far as acronyms, I wouldn't worry. Every time I transition to a new team, I have to stop meeting and go "excuse me, when you say XYZ, what does it stand for in the context of this team". It is then followed by a chuckle from everyone and a light hearted discussion about how everyone hates acronyms and we should use more plain language. And to this point, you can absolutely use plain language when presenting. You are allowed.
It's a lot worse if you feel you have to present on a topic you know nothing about..

Did you get any training at all in this role?

Don’tvwirry about not knowing what they are talking about, that’s normal at the start of any new role, especially a project management one if they are IT and you are the generalist!

Two thoughts - can you read up
on the basics of project management/ do a mini Prins 2 course? Also can you discuss your concerns with a leader in the company?

I think you’ve actually got very little to lose by giving it a bit more time, but not at the expense of your health. Being out of your depth in a completely new role doesn’t mean you’re failing, especially when they chose you without an interview. I’d speak to your manager about the training and support you need, and if it still feels wrong after a few months, there’s nothing shameful about stepping back.

@CatzaI got zero training and no supervision at all. We are all new to the team but everyone else seems to have experience in their area. I am at a loss as to why they offered me this role, I am usually reasonably confident in my work and ability but this job has really knocked me back on that front. Our manager runs our team meetings in a sort of quick fire way, asking everyone to update us on what they are doing / working on and I struggle to make my work sound as impressive as all the other team members. I don’t think this is imposter syndrome I genuinely just don’t understand the technical jargon which EVERYONE uses and seems to understand. I come from a legal background so I’m not unfamiliar with jargon but this is on another level,

when you say speak to my manager do you mean my old manager in the substantive role or my current manager in this temp promotion?

Thanks @Minasamai did a pile of reading prep podcasts etc before going into the job and I felt well prepared ( it’s in the same organisation just a totally different directorate but i was still reasonably confident and looking forward to the work) . I feel that two months in I should be doing better than I am, and given it’s only a 12 month role I really should be up to speed by now

I’m not on temp promotion but similarly moved within civil service to a much more stressful role in a different dept and feel out of my depth. It’s been three months and am slowly starting to feel more comfortable ; at the beginning I wanted to run away! I’d try and give it more time before making a decision so you don’t feel you let yourself down. Is there anyone in your new team who can help you get up to speed? If you then do decide to move on, maybe your manager can help you move to another team at your substantive grade? Presumably your health condition provides a very good reason not to do the more stressful job, if you don’t want it.

If you don’t understand the Technical Jargon, ask .. most techies love nothing more than talking about technical things.

I’ve been in Digital for 30 years, and I go into meetings now where I don’t understand the language, so I ask.

Also, in a Project Role you may well not need to understand the technical details, just understand who does

Thanks @WajeehakamranI guess I can hang on for another month or two yet. Training is not on the table, support is thin on the ground as everyone is very stretched and pressured, my team colleagues are fab though and really are keeping me in the job as are so helpful and supportive and some are also feeling a bit overwhelmed but nowhere near of the same level as me

To your question: perfectly reasonable if it's getting to you. Life is too short.

However, I have a PM background and I often say we are supposed to be the dumbest person in the room, because we're surrounded by the experts and helping them achieve whatever benefits the project has been set up to deliver. If the jargon is related to the department, don't be shy about asking what that means. Your value is in managing the project and asking questions to understand their world, not to somehow know it all. If you did, you wouldn't need your stakeholders!

If it's project related acronyms like RAID, ADQ, that sort of thing then they're easily picked up with some googling, or happy to answer any PM type questions by DM.

Good luck!

Is understanding the acronyms something they'd expect you to know based on your role? Is there someone you can open up to separately who could get you up to speed?

I work in comms. in public sector so I'm constantly moving onto the next service to support and learning what they're doing and niche terminology from scratch. I just ask now.

Your current manager. You need to have some support so you need to voice your concerns to your current line manager.

Thanks all - re stopping meeting to ask about the jargon I find it difficult as they are multi disciplinary with packed agenda fast moving and with senior civil servants I just find it all bewildering and struggle to understand what’s being discussed. I will try and stick it out for another month or two. But if I try and get out to get back to my substantive grade do I have to ask my current manager or the manager who released me?