Which path?

A long awaited opportunity to move up a level or two in my organization has finally presented itself. At first glance, the opportunity feels entirely wrong for me. It's not the position that I've been waiting for. It's a role firmly rooted in what people know needs to get done. The job description is entirely conventional, corporate, and uninspired. It just reaffirms my expectation that the job will be conventional, corporate, and uninspired. But why do I feel that way? I'm extending how I see current managers running their groups and assume that my task would be to emulate their approach. For whatever reason I assume that the current practice is optimal and my approach to routine tasks will pretty much match what's being done now.

Would that really be the case? I expect that I would be free to lead my group as I see fit. There is no reason why I would need to follow the protocol established by my predecessors. This is the approach that I've found so chafing and limited. The lack of exploration in solving the challenges of how the lab operates, the failure to foster a sense of teamwork and shared responsibility, a culture driven more by a fear of failure than a desire to excel are the things that I've wanted to change for the last couple years. This could be my opportunity to finally influence the shape and culture of the labs. I can't help but think that I shouldn't let this opportunity pass me by simply because it's not the ideal role that I've imagined myself taking. This opportunity is here. I need to start asking myself what I would make of it rather than simply assuming it's not the right place for me. That right place may fail to materialize.