Bob Geldof was a smart man
After all, he did hit the nail on the head as far as Mondays were concerned.
For those new to the Saedighverse, I started a new job a while ago. I am an acting manager, while my normal manager is on second language training. It's an interesting job, in that I don't really produce anything and don't really have anything to show for a day's hard work. I do a lot of running around, answering questions, asking questions, removing roadblocks, learning managerial jargon like "removing roadblocks", and paying bills. In my old job, I had a shiny, colourul, grammatically correct bimonthly publication by which to measure my success. With this new job, my success is measured based on a whole stream of statistics, such as journal lateness and client satisfaction.
Today involved a lot of running around, a lot of asking and answering questions, and a lot of removing roadblocks. But I still feel like I accomplished very little. I guess I have to start learning to quantify my success in more subjective ways. Will the journals be on time? Relative to the other groups, yes. Will my client be satisfied? They'll get their journal mailed on time, despite them e-mailing me "critical" changes at 4:30 pm on a Sunday afternoon (hey, I am still a civil servant). Does my staff feel valued? No one has lodged a formal complaint and no one stops talking when I enter the lunch room... well, except for that one time. But I am sure it was a coincidence.
Seriously though, I am enjoying it. It's taking my mind off of certain other things (ahem, renewed violence in Afghanistan, ahem)* and it's definitely forcing me to learn new skills and think on my feet, as well as have more confidence in my decisions. I suddenly find myself in a position of authority, and no one is really doubting it except me. People actually ask my opinion and listen to my answer. Not that I didn't feel valued before. I do work in a fairly receptive environment, considering the limitations of the public sector. But it is a little different now. So far, it's a good thing. I think I am doing okay. Even on Mondays.
*Note to self: if this editor thing doesn't work out, there may be openings for Fact Checkers with Newsweek.
Comments
Yeah - it totally takes some getting used to - not having necessarily any direct or actual can-hold-in-your-hand kind of individual contributions or deliverables by which to measure your success and the results of a hard days work... it took me a while to realize my value as a manager for my team wasn't measurable in those terms anymore. The question "why am I even here" was frequently on my mind, as my team seemed to function just fine without any handholding from me. It was the subtle things that I was doing for them behind the scenes - "paving the way", "laying the groundwork", "communicating and managing up" (hehe - how's that for managerial jargon) that, as it turns out, was helping my team. For example, when it came time for giving promotions, as a manager I always had a really easy time getting approval for any promotions on my team (compared to others) because management always knew what my team was up to and who was accomplishing what, and what value it brought. And when it came to review time, the feedback I'd get from my team (indirectly through my manager of course, to honour the anonymity of it) indicated that they felt I was providing some value in terms of setting direction, "removing roadblocks", ensuring they had the training and tools they needed to get the job done, and feeling appreciated and recognized. (Well, except for that one person... but you can't please 'em all ;-)) Still - I find one of my "weaknesses" whenever I end up assuming management responsibility, is in handing off my concrete deliverables so I can focus on the management stuff - even with everything I know and have learned, at the end of the day I still like to have something tangible to show for my efforts :-)
Posted by: heather at May 17, 2005 12:07 PM
You also forgot the favorite terms "horizontal management" (which just sounds like a sexual harassment case waiting to happen) and "smoke-stack department" (where different areas do not communicate"
Posted by: Tracy at June 13, 2005 03:54 PM