You're in the driver's seat

I thought I might be able to procrastinate about what I wanted to do career-wise a little while longer but recent events have made this a little difficult:

I had a chat with my VP today about the possibility of joining the Finance group, at least for the short-term to get them out of the bind that they're currently in with their VP on mat leave and an analyst having just resigned with the next busy planning cycle imminent.

My immediate reaction, without having all the details was no thanks, been there, done that—I’d left a comfortable (read: boring) role in Finance at the Bank for a reason. The last thing I wanted was to go back to routine reporting and planning cycles.

To back up a bit, I’ve been feeling increasingly restless and dissatisfied in my role. Much as I love how interesting Corporate Development is, I haven’t been as busy as I can be…and morale in our group has generally been low lately for various reasons that would take too much time to get into here.

This being the case, I was starting to wonder about what my options were…it will be 2 years this November since I joined the company…should I stay or should I go? What more could I learn? Are there opportunities for me to grow? Is there another group in the company I’d be interested in joining? If I leave, what have I gained from this role that is transferable? Am I better off skill-wise than I was before I started? All these questions, and more, I’ve been putting off finding the answers for.

There's no doubt that in the short-term, I will be loaned out since we have some capacity right now. Whether or not I want to stay in the long-term is up to me. And while I might feel pressured to make the move a permanent one, my VP assured me that if that’s not what I want, he’s willing to support me and run interference:
You’re in the driver’s seat. They asked for you which speaks to how highly they view you, so ask questions. It’s your career and you have to decide whether or not this is the right thing for you. Don’t be afraid to say no because you’re allowed to say no if it’s not what you want.

This was a great comfort to hear...so I’s got a lot of mulling to do.