How to not introduce yourself at your first team meeting…

Apparently, once a month at the foundation where I work in Austin, the whole 85-person team gets together for a team meeting to touch base about organizational goals, news and introductions. I am not too good on the fly, and was still feeling insecure about the fact that my boss told me I have to be labeled a volunteer and not a contract person, because of some all day budget meeting she was in the previous bad. So basically – no one is supposed to know I get paid.

So the drill is - I just work there 40 hours a week for free – as far as the 83 other people who are not my boss, or my boss’ boss know. It’s not what I interviewed for, and as she sprung this on me – she assured me it would get straightened out in a few weeks. But “that was then and this is now” (yes – through back reference to S.E. Hinton’s classic teenage novel) and basically I am trying to pick my battles here. Sometimes it is hard enough to slow my boss down to extract ALL the information I need for her requests without a sneer. I will weigh the benefits of nagging her about my public title as this role unfolds.
So – I am startled at my need to introduce myself, and I stumble and am insecure. Instead of taking the time to tell these professionals who can further my career opportunities anything interesting like:
• I am happy to help out in the press room, because I worked in the press office at the Smithsonian and enjoyed it
• I was a Central Region Operations manager for AT&T and am strategic
• I owned my own business for four years

I just plow through the standard bullshit the intern before said about where she was from and that she was new to Austin. Mine introduction went like this, “Hi, my name is Julie and I just relocated from Chicago and will be helping Rae and Katherine in the Communications department (thinking “sit down and let it be over”)

I need to take these situations and PUT ME FIRST! To start thinking about how talented I am and how lucky these people are to know me. I am not trying to oversell myself, just catch up. Now they will have to learn the slow and hard way – by me telling them one person at a time. And I will do it.

So basically – I need to be more strategic about the brand that is ME! First mistake made. Whew! Glad I don’t need to worry about when that will happen anymore.

And I have a job, and some stability and a pay check! So that is awesome. Yeah. Me.