[freedomben]

Agree with this. The big risk though is that you must continue to be seen the same way. Humans are highly prone to out-of-sight-out-of-mind, so you need to continually refresh their memory of you being that high performer. It's stupid and sucks, but unfortunately it's the way 95% of people are, and becoming a director doesn't change that underlying nature.

My advice:

1. Do try to report directly to the new director

2. Be honest and (mostly) open with them about your situation, and let them know that you are up for this challenge but that it won't be easy. Ask them for advice periodically with problems you run into (especially/mostly people problems unless they are very technical, which is rare at that level). Genuinely ask for advice though. Even if you don't take it, earnestly seek to understand what they would do and then use your own judgment about application.

3. Keep your eyes/ears open for new opportunities that might come up, but try to rate limit yourself because you don't want this to cause you to pull away from your new area or become a distraction. Also think about it as a "what could be next" not an opportunity to escape/eject early.