I've been the SD in circumstances like this. And I'll say this is good advice, but there's the potential for a subtle trap in it. Sounds like you're in a fairly political org. Not my favorite environment tbh, but if it's the game you're playing, don't go forth blindly.
(Note: I don't know genders of anybody here. I'm going to call OP "he" and the SD "she," because lots of they's and titles get confusing.)
The SD probably thinks this conversation is over. From her perspective: I told OP what to do (what was in his "best interest") and he did it. End of talk. I'm in an ultra-fast growing pressure cooker with 30 things on my plate to get right, and I work for people who don't hesitate to fire leaders. Now he wants to put time on my calendar to talk about it. This can go one of two ways.
Option A: OP doesn't like the way things went because he wants to spend time in the other domain. (which is what this is about.) On net, to the SD, this is just causing friction. Maybe she helps you out and puts you back in the old domain, at least after a while, and you owe her a favor. Maybe your performance is good, but not irreplaceable-good, and she gracefully handles the conversation, but she is annoyed. When your new director gets on, she tells them to look out for that one, he's high-maintenance. New director, you can decide whether or not he's worth the effort to keep happy, but please don't let him jump onto my calendar again without vetting what he's talking about. K thanks. (And yes, this is a real conversation that happens.)
i.e., it might get you what you want, but it also might backfire.
Option B: As a mid-to-senior manager in an org like that, your SD is always on the lookout for engineers who get "the way the world works."[1] You can go in framing the ask for advice differently: "I was on team A, I had to leave because of what happened on team A, now I'm on team B. Team B is fine but I don't see the headroom given the other players there. I'm happy to keep performing here, but what advice do you have for making a real difference in this circumstance, and are there upcoming challenges I should volunteer for?"
This may seem like a subtle distinction, but the framing is really important. In one of them, you come and say, "what's important to me is working on this domain, and that was taken away from me. Solve my problem for me." (To which the SD says, _damn, this guy can't wait 2 weeks for the new director to start_ ?) In the other, you send a different series of signals:
"I had a sweet gig where I loved the domain and was making progress as an expert/leader..." Ok, he's passionate. He cares.
"Nobody loves team disruption, but what happened happened and made sense. I'm not saying I necessarily want to go back." Grudges are for amateurs, this guy is future-focused. I can work with that.
"I took your advice, and thanks for taking the time to give it." He will engage hierarchy respectfully even if he doesn't love where it has landed him at the moment.
"But in the domain where I'm working now, you already have two leaders well-developed who are definitely the right people to lead it forward." He's a team player, not trying to knife anyone in the back. But he's also hungry and ambitious. Plus he's giving me a private and unsolicited (therefore probably honest) endorsement of other in-place players, which is a gift of high-value information.
"So with a lot of changes going on, new director onboarding, etc., I wanted to set a goal to make the biggest difference I can for our shared success. But you have better visibility than I do about how to actually stack tactics against that goal. What would you advise I volunteer for / do over the next 6 months? What should I tell this new director that I want?" He gets it. His goals are my goals. There's a clear reason he came to me rather than the new director, this is not a waste of my time. He's pragmatic and ambitious and technically excellent. I might not have anything shovel-ready for him this second, but I'll keep him in mind next time I need something knocked out of the park. And I think my 3 pm meeting tomorrow is about something like that.
[1] "The way the world works" in circumstances like this is more precisely, "the way to operate in this particular organization and leadership climate that will ruffle the fewest feathers while pleasing the right people."
(Note: I don't know genders of anybody here. I'm going to call OP "he" and the SD "she," because lots of they's and titles get confusing.)
The SD probably thinks this conversation is over. From her perspective: I told OP what to do (what was in his "best interest") and he did it. End of talk. I'm in an ultra-fast growing pressure cooker with 30 things on my plate to get right, and I work for people who don't hesitate to fire leaders. Now he wants to put time on my calendar to talk about it. This can go one of two ways.
Option A: OP doesn't like the way things went because he wants to spend time in the other domain. (which is what this is about.) On net, to the SD, this is just causing friction. Maybe she helps you out and puts you back in the old domain, at least after a while, and you owe her a favor. Maybe your performance is good, but not irreplaceable-good, and she gracefully handles the conversation, but she is annoyed. When your new director gets on, she tells them to look out for that one, he's high-maintenance. New director, you can decide whether or not he's worth the effort to keep happy, but please don't let him jump onto my calendar again without vetting what he's talking about. K thanks. (And yes, this is a real conversation that happens.)
i.e., it might get you what you want, but it also might backfire.
Option B: As a mid-to-senior manager in an org like that, your SD is always on the lookout for engineers who get "the way the world works."[1] You can go in framing the ask for advice differently: "I was on team A, I had to leave because of what happened on team A, now I'm on team B. Team B is fine but I don't see the headroom given the other players there. I'm happy to keep performing here, but what advice do you have for making a real difference in this circumstance, and are there upcoming challenges I should volunteer for?"
This may seem like a subtle distinction, but the framing is really important. In one of them, you come and say, "what's important to me is working on this domain, and that was taken away from me. Solve my problem for me." (To which the SD says, _damn, this guy can't wait 2 weeks for the new director to start_ ?) In the other, you send a different series of signals:
"I had a sweet gig where I loved the domain and was making progress as an expert/leader..." Ok, he's passionate. He cares.
"Nobody loves team disruption, but what happened happened and made sense. I'm not saying I necessarily want to go back." Grudges are for amateurs, this guy is future-focused. I can work with that.
"I took your advice, and thanks for taking the time to give it." He will engage hierarchy respectfully even if he doesn't love where it has landed him at the moment.
"But in the domain where I'm working now, you already have two leaders well-developed who are definitely the right people to lead it forward." He's a team player, not trying to knife anyone in the back. But he's also hungry and ambitious. Plus he's giving me a private and unsolicited (therefore probably honest) endorsement of other in-place players, which is a gift of high-value information.
"So with a lot of changes going on, new director onboarding, etc., I wanted to set a goal to make the biggest difference I can for our shared success. But you have better visibility than I do about how to actually stack tactics against that goal. What would you advise I volunteer for / do over the next 6 months? What should I tell this new director that I want?" He gets it. His goals are my goals. There's a clear reason he came to me rather than the new director, this is not a waste of my time. He's pragmatic and ambitious and technically excellent. I might not have anything shovel-ready for him this second, but I'll keep him in mind next time I need something knocked out of the park. And I think my 3 pm meeting tomorrow is about something like that.
[1] "The way the world works" in circumstances like this is more precisely, "the way to operate in this particular organization and leadership climate that will ruffle the fewest feathers while pleasing the right people."