Last night I was nominated on to the committee of a voluntary 'arts' organisation - surely a sign that I am assimilating in to London Society, albeit a society largely made up of New Zealanders, but I digress...
In the process of me becoming the treasurer of said organisation, I had to leave the room as the rest of the group discussed me. Of course, I eavesdropped for a while to make sure the guy who nominated me made me sound good, which he did (thumbs up to that man!) but then I heard the dreaded words of I'm sure any executive or politician. CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
You see, this voluntary organisation has close links with a business that, to those uninitiated, looks to be largely the same as this voluntary organisation. Who I happen to work for. And so, for the next 20 minutes, the group discussed basically whether this is a huge issue.
Now, let me make this clear. I may be a joker, and I certainly like my drinking and good times, but I am also a professional. And so someone telling me that my job is going to be an issue for a voluntary position is an insult. Yes, I see the conflict of interest of the Mayor of Wellington's husband being a property developer. And yes, I can see why those who didn't listen to my explanation of my role in the business may have seen a problem, but pahleeeze.
If I care enough about a voluntary group to dedicate what I know will be many hours of brain drumming number crunching, coupled with blood sweat and tears, why would I not keep this seperate from my normal everyday work?
Okay okay I am sure other people do take a few things in their stride there, but hey. I'm a pro. Or at least in serious training to be one. And I thought that if anything, this would be an asset, not a hindrance.
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