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Managing, Directing, Delegating

I started a new job about a month and a half ago, and it's been quite a ride so far.  My titles are the most impressive I've ever had, Program Coordinator and Managing Director (It's a joint appointment).  It's a great opportunity for me to grow and expand my skill set, and I'm enjoying it, but there have been moments when I've wondered if I can accomplish everything that needs to be done, both in terms of quantity of work, but also the level of quality that I want to achieve. One of the things I've struggled with in the past is delegating, which would seem to be at the center of both managing and directing, and would also go a long way toward helping me to accomplish everything I need to.

So far, I'm doing better in this job and I've discovered a few things about why that might be.  First, there's just too much for me to do alone - asking for help is the only way to make it work.  I'm nothing if not pragmatic.

Second, delegation is about trust - I need to know that if I hand a task to someone, it will get done in a way that I find acceptable.  If I unpack that sentence there's a lot there.  I really trust the people I'm working with; the coordinators for the summer program are some spectacularly talented women who I trust immensely and who continue to impress me.  I also have just been working on trust a lot as a personal issue over the last few years and I'm trying to look at this an opportunity to stretch my new muscles.  There's also that bit about the "level I find acceptable bit."  I don't mean that I'm slacking off in my old age, but I have just learned that it everything isn't perfect or exactly the way I would have done it all the time, that doesn't mean I'm a huge failure. Asking for help isn't a failure either, I've realized.  These are good things to learn.

Finally, I've discovered that trusting people with projects is easier when I'm new to them. I think this is easier because the projects are new and I'm not so invested in things being done in a certain way.  I realized that early on and have been keeping a long list of things that can be done by other people so that I won't get so "attached" to tasks that I'm unable to hand them off to other people. It's been difficult, but valuable I think.

I've also been thinking about some other "bossy", job type things, so expect more posts about this, but I want to write it down and capture some of this growth before I stop noticing it.

Comments

Jessica said…
We listened to Tina Fey's Bossy Pants on the drive to Washington and there were a few sections of the book that addressed her managerial style. I recommend the book (though the audio book may actually be better b/c you get her comedic timing and such). Sometimes when she was talking I thought "That is so Denise." Being compared to Tina Fey certainly can't be a bad thing! Miss you.
June 9, 2012 at 9:07 AM
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